India, Russia sign deal for two nuclear power units

Russia signed an agreement with the Indian government on Thursday to build two new reactors for the Kudankulam nuclear power station in Tamil Nadu and said it would loan India $4.2 billion to help fund construction.

President Vladimir Putin says Russia is ready to build a dozen nuclear reactors in India over the next 20 years to back Prime Minister Narendra Modi's growth strategy for Asia's third-largest economy, which continues to suffer chronic power shortages.

The agreement to build reactors 5 and 6 at Kudankulam was signed in St Petersburg during a meeting between Putin and Modi at an economic forum. It should help cement already close ties between the two countries.

The reactors will be built by India's Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and Russia's Atomstroyexport company, a subsidiary of Rosatom, the regulatory body of the Russian nuclear complex. Each of the two units will have a capacity to produce 1,000 MW of power. The document titled 'A vision for the 21st Century' said economies of India and Russia complement each other in the energy sector and both countries will strive to build an "energy bridge".

It said the future of Indian-Russian cooperation holds great promise across a wide spectrum covering nuclear power, nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear science and technology. "We will strive to build an 'energy bridge' between our states and expand bilateral relations in all areas of energy cooperation, including nuclear, hydrocarbon, hydel and renewable energy sources and in improving energy efficiency," it said.

The growing partnership in the nuclear power sector between India and Russia has opened opportunities for developing advanced nuclear manufacturing capabilities in India in line with India's "Make In India" initiative, the declaration said. India and Russia commit themselves to earnestly implement the "Programme of Action for Localisation in India" signed on December 24, 2015, and to encourage their nuclear industries to engage closely and foster concrete collaborations, it said.

The current nuclear power generation capacity of all 22 nuclear power reactors is 6780 MW.

In October 2015, a joint statement between Modi and Putin promised the signing of a GFA on the nuclear units by December 2016. After an inter-ministerial group cleared the project, it was sent to the Prime Minister's Office for approval. But, sources said, the Credit Protocol, or a line of credit that Russia was to provide, proved to be a hurdle.

The two countries also said that there has been a "steady and demonstrable" achievements in bilateral civil nuclear partnership, including advancing nuclear power projects at the Kudankulum site and transforming it into one of India's largest energy hubs.

"Cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy has emerged as one of the hallmarks of the strategic partnership between the two countries, contributing to India's energy security and energising broader scientific and technological cooperation," as per the document.