India lobbies with global energy giants for NSG waiver

SWITCHING INTO HIGH GEAR: Key Indian policymakers plan to talk to GE, Westinghouse, Areva and many others for smooth NSG waiver.

Featured Blog

Rajdeep Sardesai

Television, for politicians with a vision

Featured Slideshows

Related Headlines

powered by

• India needs N-deal for power n biz
• Nuclear cartel: what is the NSG, what does it do
• Indo-US nuclear deal has good business potential

Keywords: Westinghouse, GE

New Delhi: To get the Indo-US nuclear deal through by September this year, India and has already stepped up its political and diplomatic efforts.

The government plans to lobby with nuclear energy giants in the US and other member countries of the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) in order to get a smooth waiver.

Last week, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia met Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and Commerce Minister Kamal Nath to chalk out the action plan.

In order to get an early waiver from the NSG, these key policymakers plan to talk to global energy giants like GE, Westinghouse and French nuclear major Areva among many others through the Indo-US business council.

But a smooth passage is not going to come cheap. In return, the Indo-US business council may ask for financial sector reforms to be expedited. The demands may include further opening up of banking and insurance sectors.

Sources say US policymakers and corporate are more optimistic about the government pushing through these reforms now that the Left is virtually out of the way.

The government, meanwhile, feels most of these energy giants will hard sell India's nuclear civilian blueprint to NSG members.

This optimism is driven by the fact that companies like GE and Areva are already in talks with Indian energy majors for technology and technical tie-ups, once the deal goes through.

While a figure could not be obtained, CNN-IBN has learnt that the global giants have already earmarked substantial investments for nuclear commerce with India — an added initiative for the building up of a powerful lobby.