India recently agreed on a “civil nuclear” deal with the European Union (EU) to boost its energy production amidst its unremarkable nuclear programme in comparison to many nations.
Crux of the Matter
Fruitful India-EU Summit India and the European Union (EU) recently agreed on a “civil nuclear” cooperation deal ahead of the online summit between the two. The agreement facilitates the sharing of nuclear research and technology between India and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), with an aim to enhance the nuclear facilities and their efficient use.
India and the European Union have signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement on the eve of a virtual summit (report by @Rezhasan)https://t.co/AsBvPRNfH8 — Hindustan Times (@htTweets) July 14, 2020
Other Deals An agreement is expected between the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of India and the Europol, which is the law enforcement agency of the EU. Both agencies would enhance mutual cooperation in fighting terrorism. Similarly, a “maritime” agreement is expected between India and the EU, where both sides would work on increased cooperation in their defence strategies. Trade Issues However, the EU officials criticized India for its “protectionist” stance concerning bilateral trade. The EU in its statement expressed wished that India should “open up” more of its market by removing the barriers in between.
India maintains a quite protectionist stance when it comes to negotiations on tariffs and on opening up its services sector, it goes backward in many areas… at the moment, we are quite far apart in agreeing on joint operations we want to see in such an exercise The European Union (EU) on India
The EU was India’s largest trading partner in 2018. In 2018-19, the bilateral trade between India and the EU was $115.6 billion. However, India accounts for only 3% of the total trade of the EU. Civil Nuclear Development Civil nuclear development of a country aims to fulfill its energy requirement using nuclear sources. India’s development programme was initiated in 1954, when Homi Bhabha, a nuclear physicist, developed a “3 Stage” model. The aim of the model was to secure energy independence and to access nuclear energy using Thorium instead of Uranium. India has 25% of the world’s Thorium reserves but has only 2% of the world’s Uranium reserves. Yet, the major nuclear fuel of India is Uranium and not Thorium, as the latter requires breeding to be converted to Uranium-233, which can aptly be used as a fuel. Considering the cost of such breeding, the import of Uranium and its usage becomes cheaper than the use of Thorium as fuel at present. Usage In India India generates only 3% of its total energy from the nuclear sources, falling behind coal, gas, hydroelectric power, and wind sources in percentage generated. India has currently 22 nuclear reactors in operation and imports its Uranium from Australia, Canada, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.
World Nuclear Usage
The USA produces the largest amount of nuclear energy, producing 800 TWh in 2019 – 30% of world nuclear production
France has the largest nuclear-percentage in the world, generating 70% of its total energy by nuclear sources.
Countries like Australia, Italy, Colombia, etc do not use any nuclear-generated energy.
Curiopedia
Homi Bhabha was an Indian nuclear physicist known as “father of the Indian nuclear programme”. He was the founding director Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research; both of which were the cornerstone of Indian development of nuclear weapons.
In varietate concordia (United in diversity) is the official motto of the European Union, adopted in 2000. Its translations in the other 24 official languages of the EU have equal standing. It is inspired by its Latin-language version coined by the Italian Nobel prize winner Ernesto Teodoro Moneta.
The Treaty of Rome brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best-known of the European Communities (EC). It was signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany and came into force on 1 January 1958. Under the name Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, it remains one of the two most important treaties in the modern-day European Union.
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