India, France sign seven agreements

NEW DELHI - Seven agreements were signed between India and France, including one for setting up nuclear power plants in Maharashtra, after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and French President Nicolas Sarkozy held talks Monday afternoon.

The agreements include a general framework between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd and Areva for building two european pressurised reactor nuclear plants at Jaitpur in Maharashtra.

Besides, these include deals for intellectual property rights and confidentiality to allow for cooperation in civil nuclear energy.

There was also an agreement between the Indian Space Research Organisation and its French counterpart, Centre National D’etudes Spatiales, for cooperation in the area of earth sciences and combatting climate change.

A bilateral agreement for film co-production was also signed between the two countries.

The signing of the deals were witnessed by Manmohan Singh and Sarkozy at Hyderabad House.

Sarkozy, accompanied by his wife Carla Bruni and a large ministerial and business delegation, is on a four-day visit to India.