Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro has signed a memorandum of understanding with the US-based GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, one of the largest nuclear power plant vendors in the world, for the construction of nuclear power plants in India.
Power equipment supplier Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd plans five joint ventures in the nuclear sector and locomotive manufacturing. The company has decided to invest Rs 1,000 crore in a castings and forgings joint venture, Chairman and Managing Director K Ravi Kumar said.
With their landmark 2005 civil nuclear deal still in limbo, India and the United States have established an inter-agency contact group to sort out outstanding liability and technical issues to fast-track its full implementation.
Indian and American experts on Wednesday held detailed discussions on a range of implementation issues, including administrative, liability, technical and licensing matters to advance the operationalisation of Indo-US civil nuclear cooperation that has been in limbo for past 9 years.
A pact between the NPCIL and Westinghouse to build six power reactors in Andhra Pradesh is unlikely to be signed.
Under a 2010 nuclear liability law, nuclear equipment suppliers are liable for damages from an accident, which companies say is a sharp deviation from international norms
About 4 GW of new nuclear power capacity is under construction in India
The contract would give a big boost to India's $150 billion nuclear power programme, and a broader push to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
US urges New Delhi to align its nuclear liability law with the international convention
India is expected to strongly push for a bilateral totalisation agreement with the US during President Barack Obama's visit later this month.
This would make India the world's second-biggest nuclear energy market after China
'At a time when the entire India-US relationship needs to be defined by President Trump and Prime Minister Modi, a fresh look at the liability issue has become urgent,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, former Governor for India at the IAEA.
Here's why Rajeev Srinivasan believes there will be nothing particularly positive about the prime minister's US visit.
'By the time he came out after nearly five hours, he had a one-to-one conversation with the President, a delegation-level meeting, a reception, a dinner, a tour of the White House and a joint statement of a kind none of his predecessors ever had,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The joint statement issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama's first-ever summit is high on intent and ambition. Notably missing from the statement is India's refusal to be America's partner in its war against ISIS.
The government must justify why we need to buy foreign reactors when we have developed up to 700 MWe unit-size pressurised heavy water reactors, a design which can be easily extended to 900 to 1000 MWe unit size. Why can't the 'Make in India' philosophy apply to indigenous nuclear reactors, more than 18 of which have been designed, built, and being operated by Indian engineers, asks Dr A Gopalakrishnan.
Moving ahead with their new mantra -- Chalein Saath Saath: Forward Together We Go -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Barack Obama on Tuesday vowed to deepen cooperation in every sector for the benefit of global stability and people's livelihoods over the next ten years.
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