The Indian government exulted over a decision by nuclear supplier nations to end the decades-old ban on trading with the country, and open up a reactor market worth billions of US dollars.
The government called the nuclear trade waiver a “momentous” milestone in its quest to achieve energy security and meet the challenge of global warming.
The statement came after the US finally won approval in Vienna on Saturday for the one-off waiver for India by the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which controls the export and sale of nuclear technology.
The waiver — a vital step in securing a controversial 2005 India-US civilian technology nuclear accord — marked the end of India’s “decades-long isolation from the nuclear mainstream,” Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.
“The opening of full civil nuclear cooperation between India and the international community will be good for India and for the world,” he said.
For global nuclear energy companies, the decision opens the door to an atomic reactor market worth billions of US dollars with India aiming to double its share of nuclear power to between 5 to 7 percent by 2030.
The Confederation of Indian Industry forecast business opportunities worth around US$30 billion over the next 15 years with India needing about 18 to 20 more nuclear reactors. It now has 22 reactors.
“The development is a major confidence-building move for the international community to engage with India especially in high technology trade,” the group’s director-general Chandrajit Banerjee said.
A host of nuclear companies from French state-controlled Areva and Russia’s Rosatom Corp to General Electric of the US have already jockeyed for a slice of India’s lucrative atomic market.
India, where many areas endure blackouts lasting 12 hours, has been denied access to civilian nuclear technology since it stunned the world by testing a nuclear weapon in 1974 and refused to sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.
The Nuclear Suppliers Group was founded to stop other countries emulating India’s example in using imported technology to make an atomic bomb.
Since striking the deal with the US, India has sought to highlight its non-proliferation record.
The oil-import dependent nation is seeking to broaden its fuel sources to sustain its fast-growing economy.
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