Race for India's N-business hots up; UK, Canada teams coming

New Delhi, Jan 18 (PTI) The race among countries for
getting nuclear business in India is hotting up with
delegations rushing here to discuss opportunities in this
field.

While France has already walked away with a contract in
the multi-billion dollar industry, high-level delegations from
Britain and Canada will be here this week to interact with
Indian side to explore possibilities for cooperation in the
nuclear field.

The visits by the British and Canadian delegations come
close on the heels of a similar trip by a team of the US
nuclear industry here over a week back for a similar purpose.

The flurry of visits come more than three months after
the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) granted waiver to India,
ending its 34-year isolation and allowing it to have civil
nuclear trade with the world.

A 20-member delegation, headed by British Secretary of
State for Business and Enterprise Lord Peter Mandelson, will
be here from tomorrow.

Mandelson and the delegation will also visit Mumbai and
Pune.

The business delegation accompanying Mandelson will have
executives from civil nuclear companies such as AMEC and Rolls
Royce.

In Delhi, Mandelson will meet Commerce Minister Kamal
Nath and some other ministers. He will also address the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Partnership Summit and
attend a seminar with the accompanying UK nuclear delegation.

The delegation will interact with executive of Indian
nuclear companies at a seminar on "Civil Nuclear Power:
Opportunities for UK-India collaborations" in Mumbai.

The seminar will offer an excellent opportunity for
Indian companies interested in the nuclear energy business to
interact and learn more about the expertise of UK companies in
the sector and explore the possibility of potential business
partnerships in this promising sector, a British High
Commission statement said.

Canadian Minister for International Trade Stockwell Day
will also arrive here tomorrow on a five-day visit along with
a delegation that includes representatives from Canadian
Atomic Energy Ltd and SNC Lavalin Nuclear and Cameco Corp.

He will meet Commerce Minister Kamal Nath and is likely
to call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. During the meetings,
opportunities for civil nuclear trade are expected to
dominate.

Ahead of his visit, Day said India is "anticipating the
construction of over 30 to 40 nuclear plants over the next
several years to produce clean energy. That's a huge
opportunity for Canada, again, on the technology side and the
supply side."

The Canadian side is expected to try to sell a Candu
reactor to India, two of which were sold to India during the
early 1950s.

Canada, which had been pressing India to sign NPT before
there could be civil nuclear cooperation, appears to have
amended its position and is keen to have trade in this field
with India.

France, however, has already got business in India. Its
nuclear company Areva is expected to deliver 300 tonnes of
uranium to India in the next few months. Also negotiations are
also at an advance stage for building of six future generation
nuclear plants of 1600 MW capacity each. PTI AKK
ASJ
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