US civilian nuclear team arrives in India

New Delhi: A US civilian nuclear delegation is in India to discuss possible collaborations with Indian firms and chalk out a roadmap for future engagements in the wake of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal.

The nuclear mission, a sub-delegation of a 38-company US-India Business Council (USIBC) Executive Mission that is on a five-day visit to India starting 5 March, comprises of a host of nuclear power companies, high-technology contractors and equipment suppliers.

The nuclear mission is slated to meet officials from the Department of Atomic Energy, NTPC and BHEL.

The delegation would leave for Mumbai to take part in the second leg of discussions with the top brass of Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and representatives of private sector firms that are planning nuclear forays.

Besides, senior executives of USEC, which operates the only uranium enrichment facility in the US, and the Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) are part of the mission.

Currently, NPCIL and BHAVINI are the only ones engaged in nuclear generation.

New aspirants in nuclear power include NTPC, which plans to commission nuclear capacity of about 2,000 MW by 2017 while private players like Tata Power, Sterlite and Reliance Energy are awaiting amendments to the Atomic Energy Act to kick off their nuclear plans.