US Sends Largest Ever Commercial Nuclear Mission to India

In following up with the recent Civil Nuclear Deal signed by the United States and India, the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), in partnership with the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and with certification by the U.S. Department of Commerce is leading from December 2-9 the largest trade mission of US commercial nuclear executives ever to visit India.

The Delegation of the USIBC-NEI Commercial Nuclear Mission will include more than 50 senior executives representing more than 30 of the world’s leading commercial nuclear companies. Jack Fuller, CEO of GE-Hitachi, will be the official Mission Leader. Westinghouse Electric Company, the other world leader in commercial reactors will also have senior executives in the delegation.

The USIBC-NEI Mission will arrive in India just two months after the historic opening of India to civilian nuclear trade with the U.S. and the world. Announced on July 18, 2005 during the celebrated Washington visit of PM Manmohan Singh, the U.S.-India nuclear deal was finally consummated with the signing of the U.S.-India 123 Agreement by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee on October 9. The inking of the bilateral 123 Agreement capped a whirl of approvals – from the Indian Government’s successful trust vote on July 20 to unanimous nods by the International Atomic Energy Agency and Nuclear Suppliers Group in September, to a final triumph in the U.S. Congress in early October.

The USIBC-NEI Delegation will meet with senior Government of India officials, the leaders of India’s top public-sector undertakings and senior executive counterparts from India’s rising global companies. Starting in New Delhi, the Mission will travel to Hyderabad and then Mumbai.

India plans to import eight 1,000-MW nuclear-powered reactors by 2012 and the U.S. hopes to win at least two contracts, which it feels will significantly boost its atomic industry.

The envisaged sale of at least two reactors, to what it calls "lucrative and growing Indian market" would create 3,000-5,000 direct jobs and 10,000-15,000 indirect jobs in the U.S. nuclear industry, the U.S. Department of State had said.

“We applaud the visionary and courageous leadership of India’s political leaders,” said USIBC President Ron Somers. “That vision, supported by India’s partners put an end to India’s nuclear isolation and made U.S.-India commercial nuclear trade possible.” “We are coming to India to learn how U.S. commercial nuclear suppliers can continue our partnership with India in the expansion of nuclear power,” added USIBC Director Ted Jones. “We want to partner with India both here and around the world.”

In addition to the US, India plans to do business in nuclear fuel with other Western countries too. India reached nuclear trade agreements with Russia and France in January, though the government had held out on implementing them until the US deal went forward, said Shreyans Kumar Jain, chairman of state-run Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd (NPCIL), which runs all 17 of the country’s nuclear reactors.

The US ambassador to India David Mulford said nuclear civil engineering companies in that country are interested in participating in and trading with Indian nuclear power companies. He also said that contrary to some reports there was no dearth of activity in the US civil nuclear power industry.

Special envoy to the prime minister, Shyam Saran said, India was looking at France and other countries with civil nuclear capabilities as much as the US to set up nuclear power plants. He also said the new US administration under President-elect Barack Obama has reiterated support for the nuclear deal between India and the US. Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Dale E. Klein said the economic recession could have an impact on the nuclear energy sector. “If there is a drop in the demand (for electricity), there could be some slowdown in the building of some of these nuclear reactors.”

The U.S. commercial nuclear industry leads the world in size, performance, innovation and engineering worldwide. The U.S. is the largest generator of electric power in the world – with 27% of the world's total installed capacity and nearly double the number of reactors as France. The U.S. also produces at roughly 1/2 to 1/3 of the cost in other major countries. In recent decades, U.S. reactor companies and civil nuclear engineering companies have remained at the forefront of innovation and engineering worldwide. U.S. industry, including many of the commercial nuclear suppliers on this Mission provided massive political support for the U.S.-India Civilian Nuclear Initiative.

Through the USIBC-led Coalition for Partnership with India, U.S. industry joined with Indian Americans and policy experts to win final approval by the U.S. Congress for ending India’s nuclear isolation.

- Ritu Pandey