India requires Rs.1.5 trillion for meeting nuclear power targets

September 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's top construction and engineering firm Larsen and Toubro (L and T) has said it planned to invest 500 million dollars to build nuclear reactors, hoping to tap Indian orders for power projects. Talking to reporters here on Tuesday L and T chairman and manging director A.M.

September 13th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - The state-owned National Aluminium Company (NALCO) is in talks with another public sector undertaking to set up a nuclear power plant in the country, an official said Sunday. The aluminium major is in talks with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) to set up the plant for which the exact location is yet not finalised.

August 3rd, 2009 CHENNAI - Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar here said that India would build four 700-megawatt nuclear power units shortly. Talking to reporters here on Sunday, Kakodkar said, ""We are looking forward to launching new 700 megawatt power reactors.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's Economic Survey for 2008-09 released here Thursday has called for allowing private players - both domestic and foreign - to invest in the country's nuclear power sector. The survey, tabled in parliament by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, however, said the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap should be fixed at 49 percent.

May 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India Monday described the nuclear test by North Korea as a matter of serious concern for the entire world. "It is a development of serious concern...

April 10th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russia's TVEL, a subsidiary of state-controlled nuclear power company Atomenergoprom, has delivered its first shipment of nuclear fuel for Indian heavy-water reactors, the company said Friday. 'Thirty metric tonnes of pellets were delivered to the nuclear fuel complex in Hyderabad (in India) for further conversion into fuel for the Rajasthan nuclear power plant,' the company said.

March 30th, 2009 MUMBAI - Engineering and construction major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has bagged a Rs.345 crore ($67.5 million) order from the Nuclear Power Corp of India (NPCI) for supply of four steam generators, it was announced Monday. The steam generators are critical and long lead equipment which will be supplied to the Kakrapar Atomic Power Project-3 and 4, L&T said in a statement.

March 24th, 2009 MUMBAI - Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) Monday inked two separate deals with GE-Hitachi to build nuclear reactors for power generation in India. GE-Hitachi is a joint venture between the General Electric Co of the US and the Japan-based Hitachi Ltd.

February 25th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Power trader PTC India will swap power with Orissa to help it overcome the power shortage it is facing currently, an official said Wednesday. PTC - formerly Power Trading Corp of India - will supply about 150 MW daily to Grid Corp of Orissa (Gridco), the bulk supplier of electricity in the state.

February 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The country's leading power producer NTPC Ltd Saturday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL) to jointly produce nuclear power plants. As per the proposal, the power majors will set up a joint venture company in which NPCIL will hold 51 percent stake and NTPC will own the rest, a government statement said.

February 7th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russian nuclear fuel producer TVEL expects to sign a $780 million contract for fuel supplies to Indian nuclear power plants, a spokesman for Russia's state nuclear power corporation Rosatom has said. The contract, if signed, could make Russia the first country to supply nuclear fuel to India since the Nuclear Suppliers Group lifted a three-decade ban on nuclear fuel sales to the country on Sept 6, 2008.

January 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Soon after signing a pact with the US-based Westinghouse Electric to build nuclear reactors recently, engineering and construction major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has signed a similar agreement with Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL), the company announced Thursday. The new agreement, however, is subject to final approval of a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement between the governments of India and Canada.

January 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Hailing India as an 'El Dorado' for nuclear business, the government Monday ruled out the participation of the private sector in the country's burgeoning civil nuclear industry for at least five years. Announcing an ambitious plan to expand atomic power generation to 50,000 MW by 2040, the government also underlined that India would not only be an importer of nuclear equipment but could also be an exporter of fast-breeder and thorium-based reactors.

January 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - France-based Areva will deliver 300 tonnes of uranium to India, the first consignment of foreign nuclear fuel to reach the country in nearly 34 years, a top French government official said here Saturday. 'This is a very important symbolic gesture and we are happy that France will be the first country to give fuel to India in 34 years,' said Jean-David Levitte, diplomatic adviser to the French president.

January 15th, 2009 MUMBAI - Engineering and construction major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has signed an agreement with the US-based Westinghouse Electric to build nuclear power reactors, the company said Friday. In a regulatory statement, L&T said the pact would enable the two companies 'utilise indigenous capabilities for the turnkey construction of nuclear power plants including supply of reactor equipment and systems.' Westinghouse technology is in use in over 40 percent of operating nuclear power plants globally, the statement added.