A delegation of
senior engineers representing Japanese nuclear power reactor vendors
is currently visiting India. Representatives from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
(MHI), Toshiba and Hitachi began a week-long visit beginning 23 November
to meet top Indian nuclear officials.
The visit by the representatives of the large Japanese companies to
India for the first time since a three-decade ban on atomic trade with
the country ended is an indication that that they are keen to catch
up with the US and France in the race to build power plants in this
country.
India's first atomic test in 1974 prompted other countries to form the
suppliers group and block nuclear exports to the nation.
The 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group, which includes Japan, lifted
its ban in September, enabling the passage of a landmark nuclear deal
between the United States and India. This has allowed India to buy nuclear
fuel and technology from the world market for its civilian energy programme.
Takuya Hattori, delegation head and president of the Japan Atomic Industrial
Forum, said recently in Tokyo that that the senior engineers from Mitsubishi,
Toshiba and Hitachi will meet top officials of the Indian nuclear establishment.
The US and France have agreed to transfer civilian nuclear technology
to India, allowing General Electric Co and Areva SA to compete for the
reactors India plans to build. In Japan, the only country ever attacked
with atomic weapons, popular resistance discouraged Prime Minister Taro
Aso from signing a cooperation accord with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh in Tokyo last month.
"If Japan continues to talk with India with the current undecided,
opaque stance, there is risk that India may turn its back on Japan,''
Hiroshi Sekimoto, a professor in the nuclear energy department at Tokyo
Institute of Technology, said ."China, Russia and France are willing
to cooperate with India.''
"Japan is in a difficult situation,'' said Sekimoto. "The
government should consider whether it can gain the public's consent
if it's going for a deal with India.''
India, the second-fastest growing major economy after China, aims to
build 40,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity by 2020, equivalent to a
third of the country's total power generation.
The monopoly Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) plans to
buy more than $14 billion of equipment next year, Chairman S. K. Jain
said. NPCIL is negotiating with General Electric and Westinghouse Electric
Co. of the U.S., Russia's Rosatom Corp. and Areva, the world's biggest
reactor maker, he said.
The seven-member Japanese delegation will meet Jain and Atomic Energy
Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar. They will tour nuclear sites and
attend a seminar hosted by NPCIL.
``We will probably talk about the future of India's nuclear industry
and exchange information on what kind of cooperation the countries can
have in future,'' Hattori said. ``We haven't decided on any concrete
subjects at this moment.''
The forum meets every two months to discuss nuclear relations with India.