India to seek nuclear trade after US Congress go-ahead: FM

India yesterday said it will seek international nuclear commerce but only after a landmark civilian atomic energy deal with Washington is cleared by the US Congress.
Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee's announcement came after nuclear supplier nations on the weekend lifted a decades-old ban on trading with India, saying it would fuel the country's economic growth.
"India will actually enter into trade with supplying countries through bilateral agreements (only) after the ratification (of the deal) by the US Congress," Mukherjee told reporters in New Delhi.
"As far as the procedure is concerned, now we shall have to wait for the ratification of the agreement," he added.
Ratification by Congress is the final hurdle before the deal, signed by US President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005.
Mukherjee's comments came as US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice urged India not to ignore US firms should the deal hit a roadblock at the current Congress session, which concludes by the end of the month.
"We have talked to the Indian government about not disadvantaging American companies and I think they recognise and appreciate American leadership on this issue," the Press Trust of India quoted Rice as saying during a trip to Algeria.
Mukherjee also hailed the waiver both by the Nuclear Suppliers' Group and the International Atomic Energy Agency as "passports for India to enter into international nuclear trade."
For global nuclear energy companies, the decision opens the door to an atomic reactor market worth tens of billions of dollars, with India aiming to boost its share of nuclear power to five to seven percent by 2030.
A host of nuclear companies from French state-controlled Areva, Russia's Rosatom Corp to General Electric of the US have been jockeying for a slice of India's atomic market.
Meanwhile, after working "tirelessly" for securing a waiver for India from the Nuclear Suppliers' Group for trade in the atomic energy, the US on Monday said its next aim is to make New Delhi a "full partner" in the nuclear cartel.
"President Bush, Secretary of State and the entire administration had worked tirelessly to ensure that India reached the stage where it has today in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)," Assistant Secretary (Market Access and Compliance) in the US Department of Commerce David Bohigian said in New Delhi.
Bohigian said Bush and the Congress administration would continue to work to "make India a full partner in this group (NSG) which we think is crucial... From a strategic, political, economic and energy standpoint".
He said the US administration would be working through the Congress and the Hyde Act to ensure $100 billion r market for American companies.
"The next step for the US (administration) will be working through the Congress and the Hyde Act and make sure that business opportunities will enable the US firms to stay in what is estimated to be $100 billion market," the official said at a CII seminar.
He said atomic energy would play an important role for economic development of India. "When you look at the energy map of 2020 and beyond, certainly nuclear has a key role to play in India's growth which we welcome," Bohigian said.
According to industry body Assocham, about 40 companies, including Videocon, have already started talks with foreign firms to set up nuclear power plants envisaging a total investment of about Rs 2,00,000 crore in India.
"We have asked the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for amendments in the legislations to facilitate the entry of private sector in generation of nuclear power," Videocon group head Venugopal Dhoot said.