Russia first to win India contracts

MOSCOW, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Russians expressed happiness to be the first to win big nuclear power deals from India since a ban on the latter from obtaining such technologies was lifted.

Russia wrapped up the deals Monday during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who also just completed a similar visit to the United States where the two sides agreed to hasten the completion of a similar civilian nuclear deal.

The agreements concluded in Russia will include transfer of technology and uninterrupted fuel supplies to India's nuclear reactors. Russia will help set up four new nuclear reactors in India's southern Tamil Nadu.

The deals with Russia became possible since the United States successfully lobbied the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group to lift a ban on exporting nuclear technologies to India last year, The Moscow Times reported.

The ban had been imposed because India, a nuclear weapons power, has not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

Besides the United States and Russia, others competing for the lucrative Indian nuclear power markets are France and Canada.

The Times of India reported each reactor would cost about $1.5 billion, which comes at a time when the Russian economy is feeling the pinch of revenue loss from cheaper oil exports.

The Russian deal, providing for uninterrupted fuel supplies, reportedly goes beyond the agreement with the United States. The so-called 123 Pact with United States would end the nuclear cooperation and require India to return U.S. equipment and fuel if the agreement were to be terminated.