News:
India’s nuclear programme is set to get huge boost through three big changes.
- First, Japan has asked India, for a dedicated nuclear reactor site, signaling that not only is it willing to shed all inhibitions of doing nuclear commerce with India but is also keen to be counted with the US, France and Russia as a power building nuclear parks here.
- Second, India is giving big contracts for six reactors each to US blue-chip companies GE and Westinghouse. This is a big shift from India’s long-standing policy of signing deals for two reactors at one go. The six-reactor deal will mean cheaper pricing for India.
- Third, component of the nuclear industry, the insurance structure, will be activated next month when Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) buys a nuclear insurance policy at Rs 100-crore premium from a consortium that includes General Insurance Corporation (GIC) and a group called Nuclear Risk Insurers from Britain.
- The resolution happened after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came back from the US late last year and instructed officials that the issue must be solved without changing the law and without putting a big financial burden on the government.
Source: ET