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Continued cooperation

Continued cooperation FRENCH willingness to share space research and nuclear power expertise with India is considered a welcome and viable alternative coming as it does in the wake of a US ban on the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), following ISRO's decision to buy cryogenic engines from Russia.

French minister for research and space Hubert Curian disclosed at a recent seminar that France is steadily developing its own space programme to send a man into space. This should help India greatly, because though it has satellite manufacturing capability, it lacks the technology to build space rockets. France also will continue to supply enriched uranium fuel to the Tarapur atomic power plant after its 10-year agreement with India expires next year. The French decision was taken even though France is a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and India is not.

Meanwhile, Space Commission chairman U R Rao has assured Indian industries of continued support in terms of transfer of technology. ISRO has developed several products and processes for industrial applications and will sell these to high-tech companies at a nominal price. ISRO plans to spend Rs 4,000 crore on such activity, Rao disclosed.

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