India, Russia ink key pact for two nuke power units in Kudankulum

File pic

St Petersburg: India and Russia on Thursday concluded a pact for setting up the last two units of the Kundankulam nuclear power plant with Moscow's help in Tamil Nadu after overcoming initial hurdles to finalise the strategic deal.

The General Framework Agreement (GFA) and Credit protocol for Units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam nuclear plant are seen as a major outcome of the annual summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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 welcome the conclusion of the the General Framework Agreement and Credit protocol for Units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power plant," said a vision document issued after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"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 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.

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, as per PTI.

Meanwhile, in a joint statement, PM Modi after talks with President Vladimir Putin said today, "We decided on Action Plan to speed up cooperation between India and Russia."

"Signing of agreement on units 5 and 6 of Kudankulam Nuclear Plant will further strengthen India-Russia ties. India-Russia defence cooperation is being given a new direction," he added.

Also, India and Russia today asked all countries to stop cross-border movement of terrorists and asserted that a decisive collective response from the international community without "double standards and selectivity" was required to combat terrorism.

PM Modi said that India welcomes Russia's unconditional support in the fight against cross-border terrorism.

He added that the views of the two countries are similar on the problem in whichever form it exists, whether in Afghanistan, the Middle East or Asia-Pacific.

"India and Russia stand together on terrorism and the new challenges to security," he said.

"We strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stress that there can be no justification whatsoever for any acts of terrorism, whether based upon ideological, religious, political, racial, ethnic or any other reasons," the two countries said in the St Petersburg declaration titled 'A vision for the 21st century'.

India and Russia asserted that they will continue efforts to combat international terrorism, which poses a great threat to the maintenance of peace and security.

Sharing my remarks at the joint press meet with President Putin. https://t.co/lBUk2sFg6R @KremlinRussia_E — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 1, 2017

(With Agency inputs)