U.S. and India to sign civil nuclear deal on Friday

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and India will sign a civil nuclear deal on Friday to open up nuclear trade between the two countries, the U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday.

A State Department spokesman said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would sign it along with Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Washington.

The deal was expected to be signed last weekend during Rice's brief trip to India but was held up by administrative issues.

The pact will provide India with access to U.S. nuclear fuel, reactors and technology, overturning a ban on such trade instituted after India first conducted a nuclear test in 1974.

The India-U.S. deal could open up around $27 billion in investment in 18 to 20 nuclear plants in India over the next 15 years, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry.

(Reporting by Sue Pleming, editing by David Alexander)