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Nuclear power sector: no private players for now

Sandeep Dikshit

NEW DELHI: The private sector will not be allowed to enter the civilian nuclear power segment for at least another seven years, according to a top government official.

The private sector’s entry is conditional on a separate set of rules for the country strategic programme and other alterations in the Atomic Energy Act. “Work is in progress and is at varying stages. This means that the private sector will not get an opportunity till 2014,” said the official who did not wish to be quoted.

Ever since India signed the 123 Agreement on the nuclear deal with the United States, the private sector has been enthusiastically examining the opportunities for setting up nuclear power plants.

Though the first company to evince interest was the public sector National Thermal Power Corporation, companies such as the Tatas, Reliance and the GMR Group also expressed their desire to enter the field.

However, as things stand, changes proposed in the Act by the previous National Democratic Alliance government have been put on hold by the current dispensation.

The existing law allows only the Nuclear Power Corporation to engage in nuclear power generation activity.

Safeguards agreement

On discussions for a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the official said many issues were resolved but New Delhi was unable to conclude the talks. “It is not going to be easy. We still have to work some things out,” he said, while declining to set a timeline for sealing of the safeguards agreement that would allow India to approach the Nuclear Suppliers Group for exemption. “Four rounds of talks have been held but we have not concluded,” he said.

The official’s observation belies the confidence expressed by Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon a month ago, when he said India was hopeful of concluding an India-specific safeguards agreement with the IAEA by the month end.

“We hope to do another round [with the IAEA] in the middle of January in Vienna. We hope to wrap it up. The discussions are proceeding smoothly,” Mr. Menon told newspersons at the time when three rounds of talks were held.

The official denied reports that with its entry into the global civil nuclear commerce still unclear, India might approach a non-NSG member like Niger which has sufficient uranium deposits.

“That route has been explored before. We don’t think such countries would flout rules put in place by Western countries and the U.S.,” he said and pointed out that increasing reliance on nuclear power was inevitable.

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