India assumes Chair of Regional Cooperative Agreement (RCA) for 2026

Key facts

• The 48th Meeting of National Representatives (NRM) of the Regional Cooperative Agreement (RCA) was hosted by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) from 19–22 May 2026 in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• India formally assumed the Chair of the RCA for the year 2026.
• The RCA is an intergovernmental framework established under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that came into force in 1972 and currently comprises 22 Government Parties from the Asia-Pacific region.
• India is a founding member of the RCA, with the agreement's origins tracing back to an IAEA conference held at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai in 1964.
• The NRM deliberated on collaborative programmes in healthcare, nuclear agriculture and food technology, water resource management, radiation technologies, environmental sustainability, and capacity building.