Russia Proposes India Partnership for Local Nuclear Plant Production

Russia is actively constructing the Kudankulam nuclear facility in Tamil Nadu and eyeing broader collaboration.

Russia has expressed interest in assisting India with localisation of both large and small nuclear power plants under a civil nuclear energy partnership, officials confirmed Friday.

Currently, Russia is overseeing construction of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant (NPP) in Tamil Nadu.

Rosatom, Russia’s state atomic energy corporation, said its Director General Alexey Likhachov presented the proposal to the Indian delegation during discussions at the 69th annual session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, held from September 15-20.

“Talks with India – one of Rosatom’s strategic partners – centred on expanding collaboration in peaceful nuclear energy. Rosatom offered to work with India on localising large- and small-scale nuclear power plant projects, building on India’s strong industrial capabilities,” the company said in a statement.

The officials also discussed progress on the four units under construction at Kudankulam NPP for phases II and III and explored further opportunities, including serial construction of Russian-designed nuclear plants of various sizes in India, the statement added.

Rosatom has already commissioned the first two units at Kudankulam NPP as part of phase one.

At the IAEA forum, Rosatom, which celebrates 80 years of Russia’s nuclear industry, displayed its achievements, innovative projects, and future strategies for global nuclear energy development.

Earlier reports highlighted that Rosatom, which is constructing the Rooppur NPP in Bangladesh, had signed an agreement with India to supply select equipment for its projects.