India unaffected by G8 ban on reprocessing fuel

The decision of the G8 countries to put a ban on helping non-NPT countries to reprocess uranium would have no effect on India, officials accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his four-day trip to France and Egypt said.

"We are receiving no help from anybody," official sources said. It would have no practical effect for India, which had been enriching for long, they added.

Though the government had yet to study 'the piece of paper', the move was unlikely to affect the deal with the French company Areva to set up two nuclear reactors in Maharashtra, sources said.

As Manmohan Singh visits Paris for a fleeting one-day visit during which he will meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy for a working lunch, the two countries are also moving to implement their bilateral civil nuclear pact signed in September last year.

The deal with Areva is learnt to be closed to fruition. The French nuclear conglomerate is discussing with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) the preparation of a contract for two advanced reactors of 1,650 MW each to be set up in Jaitpur, Maharashtra.