India will put its money where its mouth is. Battling widespread criticism in Washington that it pocketed a game-changing nuclear deal for free, India will sign a “commercial contract” for a small works agreement with Westinghouse, the only US nuclear company with any declared plan to set up nuclear power plants in India.
The contract, for a modest sum of under $100 million, is expected to be signed between NPCIL and Westinghouse during the visit of PM Manmohan Singh to Washington later this month. While the deal is largely symbolic, it’s a sign from India that it will try to walk the talk on welcoming nuclear reactors by US companies.
They have refused to invest in the Indian nuclear sector because of concerns about India’s nuclear liability law. The Indian government has maintained the law should not be a deterrent, but there are no takers in US or other countries for that argument. To that extent, this agreement would be seen as a statement of intent by India, certainly a PM who considers the nuclear deal to be his greatest legacy.
The visit is important for Singh, who is looking at securing his legacy on the nuclear front. After he pushed the deal through Parliament in 2008, Singh has allowed the nuclear dossier to be preyed on by the atomic energy bureaucracy, effectively killing the deal.
The contract, for a modest sum of under $100 million, is expected to be signed between NPCIL and Westinghouse during the visit of PM Manmohan Singh to Washington later this month. While the deal is largely symbolic, it’s a sign from India that it will try to walk the talk on welcoming nuclear reactors by US companies.
They have refused to invest in the Indian nuclear sector because of concerns about India’s nuclear liability law. The Indian government has maintained the law should not be a deterrent, but there are no takers in US or other countries for that argument. To that extent, this agreement would be seen as a statement of intent by India, certainly a PM who considers the nuclear deal to be his greatest legacy.
The visit is important for Singh, who is looking at securing his legacy on the nuclear front. After he pushed the deal through Parliament in 2008, Singh has allowed the nuclear dossier to be preyed on by the atomic energy bureaucracy, effectively killing the deal.
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