Question 100 from UPSC CSE 2019 - Current Affairs

Question

Recently, India signed a deal known as 'Action Plan for Prioritization and Implementation of Cooperation Areas in the Nuclear Field' with which of the following countries?

IASCODEX · Accepted Answer

Correct Option: B. Russia

Strategy: Recall the recent high-level nuclear cooperation agreements signed by India. The specific title of the action plan, along with knowledge of India's longstanding partnership in nuclear energy, especially the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, points directly to Russia. None of the other options have a similarly titled or recent landmark agreement with India in this field.

Key Info: Action Plan for Prioritization and Implementation of Cooperation Areas in the Nuclear Field: This agreement was signed between India and Russia on October 5, 2018, during the 19th Annual Bilateral Summit in New Delhi. The initiative outlines a roadmap to expand bilateral cooperation in nuclear energy, including new nuclear power reactor construction, collaboration in third-country projects, and increased nuclear science and technology exchange. Russia is India's key strategic partner in civil nuclear cooperation, most notably through assistance in building and expanding the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu, India's largest nuclear power facility. The plan reaffirms and deepens civil nuclear cooperation under the 2010 Intergovernmental Agreement between the two countries. Other nations such as Japan signed civil nuclear pacts with India in 2016 but have not entered into a similarly articulated action plan. The United States and the United Kingdom have broader civil nuclear understandings with India but no recent agreements labeled as an 'Action Plan for Prioritization and Implementation.'

IASCODEX · Answer

Option A: Japan

IASCODEX · Answer

Option C: The United Kingdom

IASCODEX · Answer

Option D: The United States of America