Indian nuclear deals for whose gain?

The Bush administration helped the American companies to sell their nuclear reactors and other nuclear-related components to India. Similar story goes with France, Russia and a few more countries. Others thus get the business at whose cost? Of course, at the cost of India. India may get a few more nuclear power reactors, which may not increase its percentage nuclear contribution after 8 to 10 years, when the demand also would have increased to a great extent. But, India will be giving over US$100 billion business to these countries! These countries were without much nuclear business for a long time.

This may result ultimately in stagnation of India’s own R & D activities in nuclear fuel cycle operations. NEED is the mother of invention. When there is no need, why spend time & money on developmental activities. That means commercialization of India’s “hard-earned” thorium fuel cycle operations will be a few decades away from now.

India should also work seriously to commercialize other non-conventional energy sources, like wind, solar, and geo-thermal, so that additional future requirements will be met by the mix of energy sources other than fast-depleting fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas.