India, US to sign nuclear deal today

Pranab Mukherjee Washington: India and the United States will sign the 123 Agreement today, with external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee signing the agreement with US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. The minister leaves for Washington after receiving clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) last night.

Rice and Mukherjee will ink the agreement at the State Department at 4 PM local time on Friday evening (1:30 AM on Saturday morning IST), it has been officially announced.

The CCPA approved the landmark accord to implement the civil nuclear deal after discussing the final shape of the agreement and the accompanying statement by president George W Bush. The meeting was attended by Pranab Mukherjee, defence minister AK Antony, home minister Shivraj Patil and railways minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Condoleezza RiceUS president George W Bush signed into law legislation aimed at implementing the historic Indo-US civil nuclear deal on Wednesday assuring there were "no changes" in fuel supply commitments as provided in the 123 Agreement.

In a statement, he maintained that the legislation is clear that the agreement with India is consistent with Atomic Energy Act and the US law.

The HR 7081 - United States- India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Non-proliferation Enhancement Act, enacted by the US Congress last week, reverses 34 years of US policy preventing nuclear trade with India and will allow American businesses to participate in what promises to be a $100 billion nuclear business.