On January 15, Washington lifted curbs on three major Indian nuclear entities—a move aimed at easing trade barriers and boosting nuclear cooperation with India. This announcement came a week after the visit to India by Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Advisor, where he declared that Washington was finalising the removal of these long-standing regulations that had hindered civil-nuclear collaboration between the two nations. This decisive action marks a historic breakthrough in the Indo-U.S. nuclear partnership and sets the stage for deeper cooperation across a range of strategic sectors.
As detailed in the update on the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations website, three Indian state-run entities, including the Indira Gandhi Atomic Research Centre (IGAR), Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), and Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL), were removed from the U.S. entity list. This roster includes international companies subject to export controls and licensing requirements, which now clears the way for greater civil-nuclear cooperation.
Are India’s regulations still holding back progress?
Despite these promising developments, a plethora of legal and regulatory hurdles continue to complicate progress in nuclear cooperation. A key obstacle lies at India’s end: the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLND) of 2010, which was enacted to establish a framework for compensating victims in the event of a nuclear accident.
