The agreement will be the seventh civil nuclear agreement signed by India since its first deal with the US in October 2008.
Since then, India has signed agreements for cooperation in the civil nuclear field with France, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Argentina and Namibia.
Already India has finalised a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Canada, which is expected to be signed in 2010.
UK supports India’s re-entry into the international nuclear trade after the 2005 India-US joint statement.
According to officials, one of the contentions during the discussions had been in the preface of the draft, where India objected to the words proposed by Britain referring to its position on a fissile material cut-off treaty. India claimed that the agreement must reflect its official position, which calls for a universal, non-discriminatory and verifiable treaty.
“But, we have been told that there are no dates free before February. After that, the UK government will get busy with preparations for parliamentary election,” said a senior government official.
During Peter Mandelson’s last visit to India in January 2009, he had been accompanied by a delegation of the British nuclear industry.
UK nuclear industry reportedly exports nuclear goods and equipment worth over GBP700 million and can supply almost 70%-80% of a new nuclear reactor.
