New Delhi, October 04: India and the US may clinch the much-awaited “arrangements and procedures” agreement on reprocessing the spent nuclear fuel of American origin when they meet in Vienna soon.
The talks between officials of the nuclear establishments of the two countries are expected to take place within the next fortnight and will be observed very closely by US companies which are keen to set up nuclear power plants in India.
The first round of talks in July in Vienna were “very surprising for both the sides”, sources close to the negotiators said.
Department of Atomic Energy officials also said the two sides had made “good progress” in the first round of discussions and were optimistic that agreement could be clinched “in a couple of months”.
The talks are being considered as a significant step to take forward the operationalisation of the Indo-US nuclear deal.