India Signs Nuclear Inspection Accord With UN Investigators

India and the United Nations nuclear agency today signed an agreement that will give international inspectors access to Indian facilities, a crucial step toward implementing a U.S.-led atomic accord.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei and Indian Ambassador Saurabh Kumar signed the inspections agreement today in Vienna, according to an IAEA statement. The safeguards agreement, approved by the IAEA’s 35- member board of governors on Aug. 1, grants inspectors access to 14 civilian nuclear reactors in India.

The U.S. helped to overturn a three-decade international ban on India’s purchase of nuclear-energy supplies last year after the government in New Delhi pledged more transparency into its atomic activities. MORE...