As US trade mission, which include representatives from General Electric, Westinghouse and USEC Inc, will visit India this week to hold talks with the government on how to leverage spinoffs from the Indo-US Civil Nuclear agreement, Shyam Saran, the Prime Minister's special envoy for the Indo-US nuclear deal and climate change said at a conference here.
Although the signing of the Indo-US deal on October 10, 2008 will remove the technology-denial regimes for nuclear material as well as dual use technologies, and this will open up a plethora of opportunities for private sector players, it is too early to comment on whether foreign companies can set up nuclear power plants, said Saran.
He added that the government was cautious in this regard since India's civilian and nuclear programmes are enmeshed. And under the separation plan that is part of the Indo-US nuclear deal, the separation will be completed by 2014. However, in the interim, the private sector can participate in collaborative ventures with Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL).
However, the government does not have a "closed mind" to allow private sector participation, he added.
Speaking at the Fifth Indo-US Economic Summit in New Delhi on Thursday, he said with the path being cleared for India to freely access the international nuclear market, India can scale up nuclear power production to 20,000 Mw by 2020 and can reach 60,000 Mw by 2030.
Currently, nuclear power comprises less than 4 per cent of India's total power output. The nuclear deal will also help facilitate the Department of Atomic Energy to shift gears by procuring adequate uranium from nuclear supplies and also operationalise it's three-stage nuclear programme from the current uranium-based reactors to thorium- and plutonium-based reactors.
Saran highlighted that India and foreign companies will now be in the position to strengthen their manufacturing capabilities for certain components in the nuclear sector and other allied industries.
India's lack of access to dual-use technologies had affected many civilian and non-military areas, especially in the private sector, said Saran.
On liability and insurance for foreign companies, he said the matter will be considered by the Union Cabinet. India has to sign the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage for US firms to do business in India, said Eric Anthony Jones, First Secretary (Economic Affairs), US Embassy.
American regulatory restrictions for India to access the nuclear market will be removed once the US President certifies that India has signed the India-specific safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, he added.
