WASHINGTON, March 19 – Even as American firms remain concerned over India’s nuclear liability law, an advisor to the Obama administration on civil nuclear trade has said India remains a land of opportunity for global nuclear power suppliers.
“India remains a land of opportunity for global nuclear power suppliers. It is possibly the only nuclear market where vendors will not be asked to compete against each other to provide the lowest bid. Each vendor works with the
customer (NPCIL) using a win-win approach for success,” Vijay K Sazawal told Press Trust of India (PTI) in an interview.
Early this month, Sazawal was reappointed by the United States Department of Commerce to serve as an advisor to the US Government on promotion of civil nuclear exports of American goods and services to countries in need of clean energy. Said to be an expert on India-US civilian nuclear issue, Sazawal will serve on the Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee (CINTAC) for additional two years.
CINTAC provides consensus advise on the development and administration of programmes and policies to expand US civil nuclear exports and strengthen the competitiveness of the industry. Observing that India’s pledge to purchase US brand reactors is genuine, Sazawal said the US Government, in turn, is doing its best to work out any administrative and legislative hurdles to help US, vendors achieve success in the Indian market.
“Indians can be reasonable in settling bilateral disputes and issues of contention. But the process may involve a higher degree of flexibility and ingenuity than what a vendor has experienced elsewhere,” he said in response to a question.
“It is advisable to invest in local businesses and learn from local entrepreneurs who deal with India’s cumbersome bureaucracy and legal system, and still make good money along the way,” Sazawal said.
Noting that nuclear power symbolises a way out for Indians to eradicate poverty and reduce carbon footprint, Sazawal said that it is critical to India’s future, and the US has a big role in making that happen. India currently has 20 operational nuclear reactors in six nuclear power plants with a capacity of 4.4 gigawatts (electric).
As of September 2012, seven reactors totaling 5.3 gigawatts (electric) are under construction and expected to come online by 2016, the US Energy Information Administration said in a report on Monday. As electricity demand in India continues to grow, the government has indicated that it plans to increase the nuclear share of total generation to 25
per cent in the long term from about four per cent in 2011, it said.
In September 2008, India became a party to the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group agreement, which opened access to nuclear technology and expertise through several cooperative agreements, the report said, adding that the Indian government has signed several such agreements with countries including the United States, Russia, France and the United Kingdom.
In addition, via these agreements, India gained access to reactor parts and fuel from other countries. The US report said, while the Indian nuclear sector historically has had limited access to uranium, it has abundant thorium reserves that can power more sophisticated reactors. India’s commitment to the thorium fuel cycle sets it apart from most nations with nuclear power programmes.
BERNAMA
