Dr P K Iyengar, Chairman (Retd,), Atomic Energy Commission
In spite of the fact that the Indo-US nuclear deal is not in the national interest, many in the country, and in Parliament, support it because of misconceptions about the deal, which need to be clarified.
The nuclear deal is an agreement between India and the US for the US government to supply nuclear fuel and reactors to India.
Contrary to common perception, the nuclear deal or the 123 Agreement isnot a commitment on the part of the US government to provide us with uranium or nuclear reactors. Presently American law prohibits nuclear cooperation with India because we have not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). All the nuclear deal does is to grant a 'waiver' from that law, so that American companies can now pursue nuclear trade with India. However, if India conducts a test at any time, the waiver is revoked.
Imported uranium and nuclear reactors will be cheap and cost-effective.
Even if the nuclear deal is made operational, the actual sale of uranium and nuclear reactors will be governed by market forces – there are no guarantees of cheap or competitive nuclear power . To the contrary, there is every reason to believe that it will be expensive.The cost of uranium in the international market has gone up four-fold in the last few years, and will rise further with further demand. The same is true of the cost of steel and other materials used in a reactor. Manpower costs
