The Hindu : Front Page : India needs help with civilian nuclear power, says Chirac

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 20, 2006

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India needs help with civilian nuclear power, says Chirac

Special Correspondent

Rs. 700 crore deal signed between Kingfisher Airlines and ATR for 15 aircraft

— Photo: SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY

TOWARDS BETTER TIES: French President Jacques Chirac and Bernadette Chirac on arrival at the Air Force Station in Palam, New Delhi, on Sunday.

NEW DELHI: French President Jacques Chirac, who arrived here on Sunday, is expected to sign a declaration on the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and an agreement on defence cooperation.

Mr. Chirac arrived here from Thailand, where he said India needed to be helped in producing electricity from nuclear power. Otherwise, it would become a "chimney for greenhouse gases."

"If we don't help India produce electricity using nuclear power, we would let develop in India a chimney for greenhouse gases. The minimum we must do is to let India respond to its energy needs without becoming a major polluting nation," he was quoted as saying by AFP.

"I wish we could, within the non-proliferation framework and existing agreements, help India respond to this need."

Mr. Chirac presided over a Rs. 700 crore deal between Kingfisher Airlines and French company ATR for 15 aircraft. Kingfisher retained the option of purchasing 20 more aircraft in the future.This is the second mega deal between the two countries. Late last year, India placed an order for six submarines at a cost of about Rs. 15,000 crores.

Mr. Chirac, who is accompanied by five Cabinet Ministers and about 30 senior representatives of French companies, opens his official engagement on Monday.

Mr. Chirac has visited India twice before — as Prime Minister in 1976 and as President in January 1998. On both occasions, he was the chief guest at the Republic Day parade.

Apart from holding talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he will meet President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani.

Antrix, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation, will sign a contract with EADS Astrium to jointly build a satellite for Eutelsat.

A memorandum of understanding will be concluded between the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and the École Supérieure des Sciences Économiques et Commerciales. Another will be signed between the Bureau of Energy Efficiency and the Ministry of Power and the AEDEME (Agence de l' Environnement et de la Maitrise de l'Energie).

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