The Indo-US civil nuclear deal is expected to figure during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump tomorrow, but a pact between the NPCIL and Westinghouse to build six power reactors in Andhra Pradesh is unlikely to be signed.
The Indo-US civil nuclear deal is expected to figure during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump tomorrow, but a pact between the NPCIL and Westinghouse to build six power reactors in Andhra Pradesh is unlikely to be signed.
A host of strategic issues are expected to be discussed during the parleys between the leaders of the world's two largest democracies, including the progress on the 2008 civil nuclear deal, according to official sources here.
They said a financial turmoil in Westinghouse and absence of a functional reference atomic plant were the main impediments behind the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited's (NPCIL) unwillingness to sign the agreement with the American nuclear giant.
According to a joint statement by Modi and the then US president Barack Obama in 2015, both the sides had resolved to work towards "finalising the contractual agreement by June 2017".
However, a lot of water has flown under the bridge since then.
Westinghouse, which was acquired by Japanese conglomerate Toshiba in 2007, filed for bankruptcy in March.
Apprehending uncertainty, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the NPCIL are unwilling to go ahead with any agreement with the beleaguered company till it comes out of the financial turmoil.
"It is unlikely that we will sign an agreement with Westinghouse when the prime minister visits the US. However, we are making good use of time to hold discussions on techno- commercial aspects," a senior government official said.
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