A Secondary Role for U.S. in India's Nuclear Future

Washington Post
Sep 2, 2008

NEW DELHI: Four months before India shocked the world by conducting underground nuclear tests in 1998, French President Jacques Chirac visited India, bringing along 100 business leaders and meeting with Indian p olicymakers and industrialists. At one meeting, Chirac surprised the Indians: "He said, 'France would fully understand if India conducted nuclear tests. We will be with you,' " recalled Tarun Das, chief mentor of the Confederation of Indian Industry, a business lobby that received the French delegates. France has a long history of working closely with India's nuclear industry, as does Russia, Das noted. But American nuclear companies have been unable to do business in India since 1974, when trade restrictions went into effect after New Delhi tested its first atomic device.