Will US nuclear suppliers be able to supply?
July 19, 2009

rediff News
The Imagindia Institute, an independent think-tank, on Sunday raised concerns about a major hurdle in US-India co-operation in civil nuclear energy, that may unravel the plans of US nuclear companies and their Indian partners to set up projects in India.

It pointed out that the two of the largest US nuclear equipment suppliers, Westinghouse, and GE, both have deep linkages with Japan .

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is currently in New Delhi , will be conducting high-level talks with India. She will be meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh  also. It is reported that after the extensive talks, India may announce two sites for American companies for nuclear power plants.

Robinder Sachdev, president of Imagindia Institute, on Sunday issued a statement which said, "It is our significant worry that unless Japan and India have a nuclear cooperation agreement, it may be difficult for Westinghouse and GE to participate in Indian business. Westinghouse is owned by Toshiba Corp., while GE has a strategic partnership with Hitachi to jointly execute nuclear energy projects worldwide. Both Toshiba and Hitachi may need to convince the Japanese government about their participation in India, and obtain necessary approvals from Tokyo.

Sachdev further argued that, "In case such required clearances are not forthcoming from Tokyo, the ability of GE and Westinghouse to engage in India's nuclear business may be severely handicapped, and in turn will impact the downstream countless vendors and the eco-system of US  nuclear cooperation with India."

The US-India nuclear deal took a lot of hard work over the last several years and now that both the economies are poised to benefit from the deal, it is important that the projects show tangible progress, argues Sachdev.

It is argued that delays or deferments may arise in case a Japan-India nuclear cooperation is not inked before US companies can deliver.

Sachdev states that he hopes that the Indian government and private sector players in India who are partnering with US firms on nuclear energy projects have minimised their exposure to the above identified risks.