India, US to jointly begin work at 6 nuclear reactors

Washington : A 10-year-long wait has finally ended after United States agreed to begin work immediately at India's 6 nuclear reactor plants and conclude contractual arrangements by June 2017.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama during their White House meeting "welcomed" the start of preparatory work on site in India for six AP1000 reactors to be built by Westinghouse.

They also noted positive working environment between India and US Export-Import Bank to create a competitive financing culture for the project.

After the project is completed, this will be one of the greatest in its kind.

These reactors would bring clean energy to India and generate thousands of jobs in the US, Brian Deese, Senior Advisor to the US President, told reporters in a conference call.

The White House said the steps that the two governments have taken in the last two years through the US-India Contact Group, including by addressing the nuclear liability issue, inter alia, through India's ratification of the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage, have laid a strong foundation for a long-term partnership between US and Indian companies for building nuclear power plants in India.

(With inputs from agencies)