(a)whether any progress has been made in case of setting up of nuclear power plants after India signing the civil nuclear agreement and if so, the details thereof;
(b)the reasons for the delay, if any;
(c)whether hurdles, if any, will be removed in a time bound manner; and
(d)if so, the details in this regard?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES & PENSIONS AND PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE (Dr. JITENDRA SINGH):
(a)Yes, Sir. Following the signing of international agreements on civil nuclear cooperation, agreements have been concluded for setting up of four units of 1000 MW each at Kudankulam (KKNPP 3&4 and KKNPP 5&6) in technical cooperation with Russian Federation. The construction of KKNPP 3&4 has commenced. Discussions with ElectricitedeFrance (EDF) of France, M/s Westinghouse Electric Company (WEC) of the USA to set up large capacity nuclear power reactors in the country have also commenced.
(b) to (d) Negotiations with foreign technology partners involve careful consideration of various legal, regulatory, technical and commercial issues and take time.
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