India and Russia plan more nuclear power units as PM Modi, Putin visit Rosatom facility

Moscow, July 9 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday visited the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom's Atom Pavilion complex in Moscow, which showcases the country's latest achievements and technologies in atomic energy.

The two leaders took in the sights at the exhibition centre with Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev conducting their tour of the pavilion.

Rosatom and New Delhi are in talks to construct six high-power nuclear power units as part of a new project as well as developing low-power nuclear plants in India.

Built in 2023, the architectural structure comprises seven floors, three of which are underground.

It was in December 2014 during Putin's visit to India that India's Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Rosatom signed the 'Strategic Vision' for strengthening cooperation in peaceful uses of atomic energy leading to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) which is being built in India with Russian cooperation.

Last month, Rosatom announced that it had installed steam generators in the reactor building of power unit No 4 of KNPP.

All four steam generators were installed using the Open Top method, which allows large equipment to be loaded using a heavy-duty crane before the reactor building dome is closed.

In May, Likhachev and Ajit Kumar Mohanty, the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India, visited the site of the experimental demonstration energy complex (EDEC), which is being built in Seversk, Tomsk Region, as part of the industry project "breakthrough".

During the joint visit, a full-scale discussion of promising areas of Russian-Indian cooperation in the nuclear sphere was held.

"We are ready for a serious expansion of cooperation with India in the field of using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. This is, first of all, serial construction of high-capacity Russian-designed NPP power units at a new site in India, implementation of small-scale generation projects in land-based and floating design, cooperation in the field of the nuclear fuel cycle, as well as in the field of non-energy applications of nuclear technologies," Likhachev had said.