India working on ratification procedures of ISSA: Kakodkar

Mumbai, Apr 12 (PTI) The country is working on the
ratification procedures of the India-specific Safeguards
Agreement (ISSA) signed with IAEA to place its civilian
nuclear power plants for the international inspection.

"We are working on the ratification procedures of the
ISSA. Ratification is a legal step and is expected to be
completed soon," Anil Kakodkar, Chairman Atomic Energy
Commission, told PTI Sunday.

Kakodkar said, "We will catch up with the schedule
mentioned in the India-specific safeguards agreement signed
with IAEA on February 2 this year at Vienna and will place
reactors classified as civilian as per the Separation Plan
under a single umbrella.

"We will place first the newly constructed plants at
Rajasthan Atomic Power station (RAPS) units 5 and 6 this year
under the International nuclear watchdog IAEA."

The next step would be filing of declaration of placing
of the civilian plants as per the Separation Plan, 2006, of
the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement, he said, adding that the
following step would be notification of the same to IAEA.

Asked whether India will be able to make use of imported
fuel, which have begun its progressive delivery (from France
and Russia), in their reactors appropriately as they have to
be used only in safeguarded plants, Kakodkar said, "We will
catch up with the schedule of ISSA and the current consignment
will be used in RAPS unit 2 as it is already under the IAEA
safeguards."

Some of the top Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)
officials said efforts are on to place the RAPP 5 and 6 under
IAEA inspection and also to begin operation of these newly
constructed plants within 2009 with the imported fuel.

"Efforts are on also to make sure that RAPP 3 and 4 are
placed under IAEA in 2010 as per schedule and the required
procedures are being carried out," they said.

With the last month IAEA Board of Governors' approval of
India-specific additional Protocol, India has almost completed
all its major commitments stemming from the July 18, 2005
statement of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, other top DAE
officials said.

Under this India-specific Additional Protocol, once the
ISSA is ratified, the inspectors can access any of the
civilian facilities.

The protocol also facilitates an electronic on-line and
real-time exchange of information between the IAEA officials
and Indian civil nuclear facility officials, they said.

The Additional Protocol approved by IAEA Board of
Governors is very close to that which is provided for the
nuclear weapon-state and is India-specific, they said.

This document will be made public only after the
approval by the Government of India and notified to the IAEA,
the officials said.

So far the six power reactors, which are under IAEA
safeguards, are under facility-specific safeguards. Now all
the six plus eight reactors (total 14) have to be placed under
the umbrella of ISSA.

The six of India's reactors under various safeguards
agreements include units one and two of Tarapur Atomic Power
Station in Maharashtra, units one and two of RAPS at Kota and
two Russian units at Koodankulam Atomic Power Project in Tamil
Nadu (under construction) and will be brought under the
umbrella of ISSA after the ratification of the inspection
agreement.

In 2012, units one and two of Kakrapara Atomic Power
Stations in Gujarat and in 2014, units one and two of Narora
atomic power plants in Uttar Pradesh would be brought under
international inspection, DAE officials said. PTI LV