---
title: "123 Agreement: India-US Civil Nuclear Deal | Model Diplomat"
description: "The 123 Agreement is the 2008 pact that allows civilian nuclear trade between India and the US, marking a significant shift in India's international relations."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/123-agreement"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- The 123 Agreement is the bilateral framework signed in 2008 that permits civilian nuclear commerce between India and the United States.
- Why is it called the 123 Agreement?
- How does the 123 Agreement differ from the broader Indo-US Civil Nuclear Deal?
- Why have no US reactors been built in India under the agreement?
- Did the 123 Agreement require India to join the NPT?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

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## Positions at a glance

### Supporters

Controversy attended the agreement from inception. Domestically, the Left Front withdrew support from the United Progressive Alliance government in July 2008, forcing a confidence vote that Manmohan Singh narrowly won. Critics in the US non-proliferation community argued the NSG waiver eroded the NPT bargain by rewarding a non-signatory. Persistent friction over the Liability Act has meant that, more than fifteen years on, not a single US-built reactor has been commissioned in India under the agreement. India's pursuit of full NSG membership—blocked repeatedly, notably by China citing India's non-NPT status, at the 2016 Seoul plenary—remains an unfinished consequence of the bargain. In 2025 the US Department of Energy moved to authorize US firms to engage in nuclear design and construction work in India, signaling renewed momentum.

### Opponents

Implementation revealed the gap between the diplomatic breakthrough and commercial reality. The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 passed by the Indian Parliament introduced supplier liability under Section 17(b), allowing the operator to seek recourse against equipment suppliers in cases of defect—a provision American firms such as Westinghouse and GE-Hitachi regarded as incompatible with international norms like the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC), which India ratified in 2016. New Delhi created an India Nuclear Insurance Pool in 2015 to address these concerns. France's Areva (now Framatome) and Russia's Rosatom moved faster commercially than US suppliers; the Kudankulam plants in Tamil Nadu proceeded under a separate Russian track, while the Jaitapur project in Maharashtra with the French and the proposed Westinghouse reactors at Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh advanced slowly.

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Example

On October 10, 2008, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee signed the 123 Agreement in Washington, ending three decades of India's nuclear isolation.

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