RAS question
The Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement is also known as:
Correct answer: (B) 123 Agreement.
The Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement is popularly known as the 123 Agreement because it was concluded under Section 123 of the United States Atomic Energy Act, 1954.
Explanation
The Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement is called the 123 Agreement because the US side needed it under Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act, 1954. The MEA's FAQ identifies the bilateral pact as the "Agreement for Co-operation between the Government of India and the Government of the United States of America concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy" and says that this Section 123 basis is why the shorthand became common. Signed on 10 October 2008, the agreement enabled India to access civilian nuclear technology and fuel from the United States while keeping its military nuclear programme separate. That makes the name legal and procedural, not a reference to a city, climate treaty, or weapons protocol.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Vienna Convention is not the name of this bilateral India-US nuclear cooperation agreement; the MEA links the agreement's popular name to Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act.
- (C) The Treaty of Paris is associated here with climate change, whereas the Indo-US nuclear deal is a peaceful-use nuclear cooperation agreement known through its Section 123 basis.
- (D) The Geneva Protocol concerns chemical and biological weapons, not civilian nuclear trade or the India-US agreement concluded under Section 123.
Concept
This tests Science and Technology in the syllabus through India's civilian nuclear cooperation framework and the legal naming of nuclear agreements. It recurs in RAS because nuclear policy links technology, diplomacy and national security in one factual theme.