Obama, Singh boost energy ties . . .

The Obama administration and Indian officials used today’s White House visit by India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to pledge new cooperation on energy technology.
 
The two leaders agreed to a new "green partnership." It includes cooperative agreements on energy security, efficiency, clean energy and climate, the White House said.
 
This will include an “Indo-U.S. Clean Energy Research and Deployment Initiative” backed by government and private funds, and two memoranda of understanding on solar and wind energy. The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory will work with Indian counterparts, the White House said.
Other areas of cooperation include unconventional natural gas and U.S. EPA technical assistance to help India improve environmental governance.
 
The agreements also pull in the administration’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which will work with India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences to improve monsoon forecasting, which will reduce risks linked to climate change, the White House said.
 
Obama said after their meeting that he “reaffirmed” his commitment to fully implement the U.S.-India civilian nuclear energy agreement, which will allow export of U.S. nuclear power technology to India.