The Hindu Business Line : US civilian nuclear team seeks Indian partners

Advertisement

New Delhi March 5 A high-powered US civilian nuclear delegation led by General Electric, Westinghouse, PSEG Nuclear, Bechtel and United States Enrichment Corporation Inc (USEC) is in the country to discuss possible collaborations with Indian firms and chalk out a roadmap for future engagements in the wake of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal.

The nuclear mission, a sub-delegation of a 38-company US-India Business Council (USIBC) Executive Mission that is on a five-day visit to India starting March 5, has on board a host of nuclear power companies, high-technology contractors and equipment suppliers.

The nuclear mission is slated to meet officials from the Department of Atomic Energy, NTPC and BHEL.

The delegation would leave for Mumbai to take part in the second leg of discussions with the top brass of Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and representatives of private sector firms that are planning nuclear forays.

Mr Tim Richards, GE's International Energy Policy Director, and Mr Rao Mandava of Westinghouse are part of the delegation.

Besides, senior executives of USEC, which operates the only uranium enrichment facility in the US, and the Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) are part of the mission.

Currently, NPCIL and BHAVINI are the only ones engaged in nuclear generation.

New aspirants include NTPC, which plans to commission nuclear capacity of about 2,000 MW by 2017.

Private players such as Tata Power, Sterlite and Reliance Energy are awaiting amendments to the Atomic Energy Act to kick off their nuclear plans.