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India On Course To Triple Nuclear Generation Capacity By 2024, Minister Says

By David Dalton
22 March 2017

India On Course To Triple Nuclear Generation Capacity By 2024, Minister Says
The Madras nuclear station in India.

22 Mar (NucNet): Nuclear generation capacity in India is expected to reach nearly 15 GW by 2024 because the government has expedited the process of constructing new power reactors, the lower house of parliament, or Lok Sabha, was told on 22 March 2017.

According to International Energy Agency figures, India’s nuclear capacity was 5.8 GW in 2014.

Minister of state for the prime minister’s office, Jitendra Singh, said a number of steps have been taken by the government to fast-track nuclear projects and the construction of new plants in different parts of the country.

“When we came to power in 2014, we set a target of increasing nuclear generation capacity threefold in 10 years and we hope to reach that target,” Mr Singh said.

He said, however, that there needs to be enough uranium available, both from domestic and foreign sources.

Mr Singh said the government was pursuing the process of acquiring uranium from different sources, including exploration in areas with known uranium reserves such as Bihar state in eastern India and Meghalaya state in northeast India.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, India has 22 nuclear reactors in commercial operation and five under construction.

Former US president Barack Obama and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi announced last year that engineering and design work would begin for Westinghouse to build six AP1000s in India in a deal that was expected to be signed by June 2017.

The contract would be the first under a US-India civil nuclear accord reached in 2008.

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