Sunday, September 14, 2008
India to Deal With France, Russia First
India will not wait around for the US Congress to debate passage of the 123 Deal, and will instead sign reactor deals with France and Russia first. India is also leery of new doubts on the question of US fuel supply assurances. Meanwhile, France has said it will provide fuel supply assurances to India, and is offering its latest state-of-the-art EPR reactor to India, which it is also building in China and Finland. This reactor design has power output that is scaleable into the multi-gigawatt range, as well as strong safety characteristics. Finally, India will have access to the same latest and greatest technology that China gets from the world.
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2 comments:
San, I am amazed by your enthusiasm on this deal and hope all the promises come true. But I won’t hold my breath and let me also add I will be more than happy if I am proven wrong.
siva,
I've consulted with a wide variety of people who are just as hawkish as you and I are on India's national security. While there have been a lot of suspicions and criticisms, there was ultimately a consensus that while the US might have the power to make a hole in the wall for us to crawl thru, they did not have the power to yank us back after we have crossed thru.
Like many, my feelings have gone up and down on an emotional rollercoaster as the negotiations progressed down this long road. But in the end, we have to recognize the physics of the new international order is now aligned in our favour. We might as well seize this opportunity, rather than kicking ourselves later.
I still want the Congress govt to fall though, and be replaced by a BJP govt in the next election. And this has a good chance of happening, since Manmohan has alienated every Congress vote bank in order to achieve this deal as his legacy. Maybe the sombre Narasimha Rao is now finally smiling, wherever he is.
The BJP/NDA will at least be more vigilant on ensuring that India is not taken advantage of as we move into the new nuclear era.
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