India as ‘Vishwa Bandhu’ Promotes Nuclear Science Cooperation with Global South: Sangeeta Singh Deo

Bhubaneshwar: Describing India as ‘Vishwa Bandhu’ (Friend to the World), BJP MP Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo said the country is strengthening cooperation with the Global South to ensure that the benefits of nuclear science and technology reach nations that need them.

Addressing the India-UN Fund Annual Event 2026, Singh Deo, who is leading India’s parliamentary delegation to the United Nations, reaffirmed that development cooperation remains a key pillar of India’s foreign policy.

She highlighted India’s chairmanship of the 22-member Regional Cooperative Agreement (RCA) for Research, Development and Training related to Nuclear Science and Technology, assumed in May this year, as a reaffirmation of its commitment to South-South cooperation.

Singh Deo also cited the Tata Memorial Centre’s specialised cancer-care training programme for healthcare professionals from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar under the BIMSTEC framework as an example of India’s Neighbourhood First policy.

Highlighting India’s nuclear advancements, she noted that the indigenous 500-MW prototype fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam achieved criticality in April and demonstrated heat-based hydrogen production in June.

She further stated that Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited generated 55,190 million units of electricity in the previous year, achieving a plant load factor of 80 per cent.

Singh Deo said India’s development partnerships remain demand-driven and guided by mutual respect, shared benefits and respect for national sovereignty.