India, US at the business end of nuclear deal
By Siddharth Srivastava
NEW DELHI - It is one year since US President George W Bush visited India. To mark the occasion, a high-powered US business group is in India to take forward what will be a major milestone of Bush's tenure as commander-in-chief: the US-India civilian energy nuclear deal.
Representatives of 38 major companies of the US-India Business Council (USIBC), a leading lobby group, are in New Delhi to "keep the ball rolling" after the nuclear pact, cleared by the US Congress and ratified by Bush, which will enable India to import international technology estimated to require foreign investment of over US$100 billion.
The USIBC team is led by US Chamber of Commerce executive vice president Lieutenant-General (retired) Dan Christman and USIBC president Ron Somers, and is upbeat. Christman said: "The future is bright for our partnership and industry looks forward to working together to meet India's future energy needs."
Somers said, "We have brought 38 major US companies to India to make sure that we keep the ball rolling on US-India business cooperation. Eighteen of these companies are in the civil nuclear industry. US-India peaceful atomic energy cooperation is good for India and the United States. Commercial implementation of US-India civil nuclear cooperation will open the door to a wide range of cooperation in high technology." The USIBC comprises more than 300 US companies.
Promoting his company's case, Tim Richards, director of General Electric, said: "We know India's need for nuclear power. We support India's fast movement into the Nuclear Suppliers Group [NSG] and India signing the International Atomic Energy Agency [agreement]. There are huge opportunities in civilian nuclear cooperation between India and the US. We have high-end technology to offer. We have set up the most advanced nuclear reactors in Japan and Taiwan."
More firms looking at garnering business include Westinghouse Electric Co, which supplies technology to almost half of the world's operational nuclear power plants. Companies and institutions in the nuclear energy business - such as GE Energy, Nuclear Energy Institute, Thorium Power, Westinghouse Power and WM Mining Co are also making pitches.
Others that have touched base with Mumbai-based state-run Nuclear Power Corp India Ltd (NPCIL), which builds and operates India's atomic power stations to generate electricity, include French nuclear power major Areva NP and Russian nuclear plant manufacturer Atomstroyexport.
As per New Delhi's revised targets of nuclear power generation, India will have to build at least 30 more reactors of 1,000 megawatts each and spend over $40 billion in the international market.
New Delhi has announced plans to double electricity production from nuclear power plants by 2030 to realize the target of 20,000MW and scale it up to 40,000MW by 2030. At the current levels of 3,900MW, nuclear energy constitutes only 3% of the installed capacity in the country.
As domestic uranium supplies are not enough to deliver such a big target, NPCIL is working on a plan to set up 10,000MW of new capacity via imported uranium over the next five to 10 years.
NPCIL is also planning to add another 5,600MW of nuclear power capacity through domestic uranium supplies. The utility is currently building around 3,000MW of additional capacity that is expected to produce electricity in the next two years.
New Delhi is working on amending the Atomic Energy Act to facilitate private sector participation in nuclear power production that has so far been the exclusive fief of government agencies. Many Indian private players, including Reliance and Tata, have expressed interest.
India is also looking to turn into a supplier of low-cost nuclear reactors to other countries, once international roadblocks are finally cleared. India may look to export pressurized heavy water reactors. According to Indian nuclear officials, India could export designs to countries, such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, for less than $30 per kilowatt, much cheaper than the international average of $1,500 per kilowatt.
India is keen to keep its options open rather than rely too heavily on the US for its nuclear fuel supplies, due to Washington's past record of sanctions.
This week. Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee told Parliament that the Indo-US nuclear deal is independent of India's cooperation with Russia, which will help in building four more atomic plants.
The proposal came about during the recent visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India. Two nuclear power plants have already been built in the country by Moscow.
Mukherjee said that India's collaboration with Russia in civil nuclear field had started before the Indo-US deal and it is a "continuing and long-term" one. Mukherjee is slated to visit Japan later this month with nuclear diplomacy at the top of his agenda.
But the US is going to bargain hard. Washington has already impressed on New Delhi that it will expect special leverage due to its critical role in pulling India out of global nuclear isolation. The US also expects a few big-ticket defense contracts to come its way as well.
Diplomatic efforts
Intense diplomatic efforts continue to take the nuclear deal to a final fruition.
India and the US still have to sort out a final 123 Agreement, while the 45-nation NSG has to arrive at a consensus on accepting India as a "nuclear exception" due to its good record as a responsible democracy, despite not signing the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon has presented a draft of the 123 Agreement - an agreement for cooperation as a prerequisite for nuclear deals between the US and any other nation - for discussions with Nicholas Burns, US under secretary of state for political affairs, during his visit to the US last month.
The US Congress has to approve the 123 Agreement, to be followed by a go-ahead from the NSG before actual nuclear trade can take place.
New Delhi also has to negotiate a safeguard agreement between with the International Atomic Energy Agency that will apply only to the separated civil nuclear sector.
Recently, Richard Boucher, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, told a hearing of the foreign affairs sub-committee: "Progress is being registered on all the necessary key steps, perhaps not as rapidly as we might desire, but in a manner that is consistent with the complexity and weight of the issues under consideration."
While Russia, the US, France, Canada and the United Kingdom will pitch for India for the sake of their own business interests, New Delhi is aggressively lobbying other countries such as Brazil, Japan and China.
Shyam Saran, the prime minister's special envoy on the India-US civil nuclear deal, has been visiting major NSG countries to elicit support. Saran has already visited Japan, Sweden and Norway, known to be a bit sensitive about issues related to nuclear proliferation.
In the recent past, both Japan and China have been more positively inclined towards the deal, with Beijing hinting that it is not averse to bagging a few big contracts. Australia, which is already dealing with China, has also softened its stand after initially refusing to sell uranium to India.
Siddharth Srivastava is a New Delhi-based journalist.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IC10Df02.html
By Siddharth Srivastava
NEW DELHI - It is one year since US President George W Bush visited India. To mark the occasion, a high-powered US business group is in India to take forward what will be a major milestone of Bush's tenure as commander-in-chief: the US-India civilian energy nuclear deal.
Representatives of 38 major companies of the US-India Business Council (USIBC), a leading lobby group, are in New Delhi to "keep the ball rolling" after the nuclear pact, cleared by the US Congress and ratified by Bush, which will enable India to import international technology estimated to require foreign investment of over US$100 billion.
The USIBC team is led by US Chamber of Commerce executive vice president Lieutenant-General (retired) Dan Christman and USIBC president Ron Somers, and is upbeat. Christman said: "The future is bright for our partnership and industry looks forward to working together to meet India's future energy needs."
Somers said, "We have brought 38 major US companies to India to make sure that we keep the ball rolling on US-India business cooperation. Eighteen of these companies are in the civil nuclear industry. US-India peaceful atomic energy cooperation is good for India and the United States. Commercial implementation of US-India civil nuclear cooperation will open the door to a wide range of cooperation in high technology." The USIBC comprises more than 300 US companies.
Promoting his company's case, Tim Richards, director of General Electric, said: "We know India's need for nuclear power. We support India's fast movement into the Nuclear Suppliers Group [NSG] and India signing the International Atomic Energy Agency [agreement]. There are huge opportunities in civilian nuclear cooperation between India and the US. We have high-end technology to offer. We have set up the most advanced nuclear reactors in Japan and Taiwan."
More firms looking at garnering business include Westinghouse Electric Co, which supplies technology to almost half of the world's operational nuclear power plants. Companies and institutions in the nuclear energy business - such as GE Energy, Nuclear Energy Institute, Thorium Power, Westinghouse Power and WM Mining Co are also making pitches.
Others that have touched base with Mumbai-based state-run Nuclear Power Corp India Ltd (NPCIL), which builds and operates India's atomic power stations to generate electricity, include French nuclear power major Areva NP and Russian nuclear plant manufacturer Atomstroyexport.
As per New Delhi's revised targets of nuclear power generation, India will have to build at least 30 more reactors of 1,000 megawatts each and spend over $40 billion in the international market.
New Delhi has announced plans to double electricity production from nuclear power plants by 2030 to realize the target of 20,000MW and scale it up to 40,000MW by 2030. At the current levels of 3,900MW, nuclear energy constitutes only 3% of the installed capacity in the country.
As domestic uranium supplies are not enough to deliver such a big target, NPCIL is working on a plan to set up 10,000MW of new capacity via imported uranium over the next five to 10 years.
NPCIL is also planning to add another 5,600MW of nuclear power capacity through domestic uranium supplies. The utility is currently building around 3,000MW of additional capacity that is expected to produce electricity in the next two years.
New Delhi is working on amending the Atomic Energy Act to facilitate private sector participation in nuclear power production that has so far been the exclusive fief of government agencies. Many Indian private players, including Reliance and Tata, have expressed interest.
India is also looking to turn into a supplier of low-cost nuclear reactors to other countries, once international roadblocks are finally cleared. India may look to export pressurized heavy water reactors. According to Indian nuclear officials, India could export designs to countries, such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, for less than $30 per kilowatt, much cheaper than the international average of $1,500 per kilowatt.
India is keen to keep its options open rather than rely too heavily on the US for its nuclear fuel supplies, due to Washington's past record of sanctions.
This week. Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee told Parliament that the Indo-US nuclear deal is independent of India's cooperation with Russia, which will help in building four more atomic plants.
The proposal came about during the recent visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India. Two nuclear power plants have already been built in the country by Moscow.
Mukherjee said that India's collaboration with Russia in civil nuclear field had started before the Indo-US deal and it is a "continuing and long-term" one. Mukherjee is slated to visit Japan later this month with nuclear diplomacy at the top of his agenda.
But the US is going to bargain hard. Washington has already impressed on New Delhi that it will expect special leverage due to its critical role in pulling India out of global nuclear isolation. The US also expects a few big-ticket defense contracts to come its way as well.
Diplomatic efforts
Intense diplomatic efforts continue to take the nuclear deal to a final fruition.
India and the US still have to sort out a final 123 Agreement, while the 45-nation NSG has to arrive at a consensus on accepting India as a "nuclear exception" due to its good record as a responsible democracy, despite not signing the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon has presented a draft of the 123 Agreement - an agreement for cooperation as a prerequisite for nuclear deals between the US and any other nation - for discussions with Nicholas Burns, US under secretary of state for political affairs, during his visit to the US last month.
The US Congress has to approve the 123 Agreement, to be followed by a go-ahead from the NSG before actual nuclear trade can take place.
New Delhi also has to negotiate a safeguard agreement between with the International Atomic Energy Agency that will apply only to the separated civil nuclear sector.
Recently, Richard Boucher, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, told a hearing of the foreign affairs sub-committee: "Progress is being registered on all the necessary key steps, perhaps not as rapidly as we might desire, but in a manner that is consistent with the complexity and weight of the issues under consideration."
While Russia, the US, France, Canada and the United Kingdom will pitch for India for the sake of their own business interests, New Delhi is aggressively lobbying other countries such as Brazil, Japan and China.
Shyam Saran, the prime minister's special envoy on the India-US civil nuclear deal, has been visiting major NSG countries to elicit support. Saran has already visited Japan, Sweden and Norway, known to be a bit sensitive about issues related to nuclear proliferation.
In the recent past, both Japan and China have been more positively inclined towards the deal, with Beijing hinting that it is not averse to bagging a few big contracts. Australia, which is already dealing with China, has also softened its stand after initially refusing to sell uranium to India.
Siddharth Srivastava is a New Delhi-based journalist.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IC10Df02.html
