N-deal with India to support 2.5 lakh high-tech jobs in U.S.

Washington, Sept 23 (PTI) America's premier trade body
has projected that the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal could revitalise
the U.S. nuclear industry and support 2.5 lakh high-tech jobs
in the country, much higher than the estimate of the Bush
Administration.

Lobbying lawmakers to approve the 123 Agreement before
the close of the 110th Congress, the world's largest business
federation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, says that if
American companies are allowed to compete in India, even
modestly, it could support 2.5 lakh high-tech jobs.

"If U.S. companies are allowed to compete, a modest share
of that business could support 250,000 high-tech American
jobs," R. Bruce Josten Executive Vice President of the apex
body representing more than three million businesses, said in
a recent letter to the U.S. Congressmen.

With India's 34-year nuclear isolation now history,
the opportunity for U.S. companies on Tuesday is tremendous,
with an expected 30,000 to 60,000 M.W. of new nuclear
generating capacity by 2030, representing a potential U.S.D.
150 billion of new investment, Josten said.

He emphasised that Congressional nod was essential to
compete with French and Russian nuclear firms who are already
operating in the Indian market.

At the same time, William J. Burns, Under Secretary
for Political Affairs, who testified before the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee last Friday had given a more modest figure
of 3,000-5,000 new direct jobs and about 10,000-15,000
indirect jobs in the U.S. if American firms won two bids for
new nuclear plants in India.

Stating that the Indo-U.S. civil nuclear deal enjoyed
the support from the U.S. nuclear industry, Burns had pointed
out that New Delhi had indicated that it planned to import at
least eight new 1,000-megawatt power reactors by 2012, and
additional reactors in the years ahead.

"Preliminary private studies suggest that even just two
of these reactor contracts for U.S. firms would add 3-5
thousand new direct jobs and about 10-15 thousand indirect
jobs in the United States," Burns had said.

Burns had also pointed out that by 2025, India will
likely rank among the world's five-largest economies. "It's
already among our fastest-growing export markets. It will soon
be the world's most populous nation."

He said the bilateral civil-nuclear initiative also
advanced the common strategic vision.

Environmentally, the Initiative will help India's
population to meet their rapidly rising energy needs.

India is growing at rates of 8 to 9 percent per year,
and to sustain those rates of growth, it must expand its
supply of energy exponentially.

Between 1980 and 2001, India's demand increased by a
staggering 208 percent, Burns said.

By contrast, China, so often described as the world's
next big energy consumer, saw just a 130 per cent increase --
about half of India's -- over the same period, he pointed out.

India will soon outstrip Japan and Europe as an oil
importer, he predicted.

The senior Bush Administration official also drew the
attention of the lawmakers that India planned to double its
capacity to generate electricity in the next seven years.
However, India relied primarily on domestically-produced coal
whose ash content was double that of American coal and emitted
far more nitrogen oxide, an element in smog, and carbon
monoxide, a poisonous gas.

"This means... that India will be one of the world's
largest-producers of greenhouse gas emissions. And so its
decision to rely, in part, on clean and efficient nuclear
energy positively affects our own environmental future, not
just India's," Burns had said.