India seems to have forgotten the lessons of doing business with the Americans.
They were the ones who held back spares and supplies to Tarapur.
Now we are discussing doing multi-billion $ deals based on Western Technology.
Has anyone analyzed how expensive this will be in terms of debt and in terms of economic dependence.
India would be better off mining uranium in Jharkhand and North East and focusing on the Fast Breeded Reactor Technology based on thorium - which will employ our graduates - rather than become strategically dependent on the West.
RE:N Energy
by Vivek Jaiswal on Mar 26, 2007 10:03 PM Permalink
It is not a question of doing business. It is a question of STRATEGIC DEPENDENCE.
Suppose we purhase 10 reactors of 1 giga watts each based on US technology. The US and China arms Pakistan which attacks us. We retaliate. The americans stop giving us N-Fuel and cripple our energy sources and 10% of our electricity generation is stopped.
Don't think that this is a hypothectical situation. We paid good money for the Bofors guns - but when the Kargill war happened - the Swedes actually refused to give us the spares!!
Use logic and experience from the past. Do not fall for propaganda.
RE:N Energy
by ravi kanteti on Mar 27, 2007 03:12 AM Permalink
Developing Fast Breeders?
Ofcourse, we can develop the Fast Breeder Reactor indeginiously. But do you know how long thats gonna take? Meanwhile, our neighbour China is adding nuclear reactors at a frantic pace. About 10 reacters every 5 years!!! Don't get me wrong, we are not competing with China in terms of who has more nuclear reacters, et al. Also, we are no where near competing with it. The point I'm trying to make is that, India needs energy to sustain its frenetic pace of growth. And it needs LOT of it. With oil prices behaving more erratic than the stock markets, India needs a concrete long term plan to quench its energy needs. For that, whether we like it or not, we need cooperation from outside, viz, US, Russia, etc. That would help us in setting up nuclear plants much faster. That is the need of the hour.
All the while, we do need to simultaneously work on our Fast Breeder reactors. They are the pride of our nation. But not make it the backbone of our enery policy. Atleast, not right now.
Economic Dependence? And mining uranium from Jharkhand? The uranium that we find in India is, unfortunately, of very low grade. The cost of enriching it to suit our needs is much higher than procuring it from outside. So, here too, we can do well on our own but we would be better off with cooperation from the outside.
So, in the 'globalized' world we live in today, we need to draw a line between Nationalism & Practicality. So what's the need of the hour for India? Proving to the world that it can do things on its own(which the World already knows - Tejas aircraft, Arjun tank, PSLV, GSLV, our nuclear program, etc) or being more judicious in our nuclear spend??
RE:N Energy
by hello on Mar 27, 2007 05:18 AM Permalink
So, Nuclear-Deal is good for uranium for Electricity purpose!!! Fast Breeder is an indian owned techinque, no one in the world developed!!! At the same time India don't tell false stories like Steam Boat as Nuclear Submarine like other people!!!
