Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama have joined hands for the first commercial agreement that would establish an atomic plant in India. Together, India and US will generate civilian nuclear power in a landmark deal.

After much discussion, Obama and Singh announced to the media that the agreement has been signed. The signature of the deal comes after a major upheaval that condemned US objections towards a tough Civil Nuclear Liability Law.

Both PM and President agreed that there is a growing friendship between India and USA. Speaking at a joint media interaction, Obama said that India is a global power. "India, as a significant not just regional power but world power, has worked closely with us on a whole range of issues from climate change to how we can help feed the world, alleviate poverty and deal with disease,” the President noted.

"We've made enormous progress on the issue of civilian nuclear power, and in fact, have been able to achieve just in the last few days an agreement on the first commercial agreement between a US company and India on civilian nuclear power," Obama confirmed. US firm Westinghouse will help Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited to set up the atomic plant for commercial nuclear energy.

Manmohan Singh too reiterated that India and America are indispensable partners. “Our bilateral trade today is USD 100 billion. Investments in India are USD 80 billion. And they are growing, despite the slowdown in the global economy," Singh said. Amid the positive comments, there was no reference to the prickly nuclear liability clause.

(AW: Sruthi)