Press Release on Programme of Action for Localisation of Manufacturing in India for Russian-designed Nuclear Power Plants (24-December-2015)
During the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Moscow on December 23-24,2015 for the Annual India-Russia Summit with President Putin, the two sides, in accord with Government of India’s “Make in India” initiative, signed a Programme of Action for Localization of Manufacturing in India for Russian-designed Nuclear Power Plants.
The Programme of Action, signed by India’s Department of Atomic Energy and Russia’s Atomic Energy Corporation ‘Rosatom’, outlines specific steps, with firm timelines,to be taken by the two sides, in consultation with Russian technology providers and Indian private and public sector manufacturers, to commence localisation in India. This includes all major equipment and spares, as well as nuclear fuel assemblies, currently being manufactured in Russia, to be gradually manufactured in India for the future Russian designed reactors in India.
At present, for Kudankulam Units-3&4, manufacturing of major equipment in India along with site work undertaken locally, already amount to about 45 percent of the total project cost. The current Programme of Action seeks to further enhance the scope of orders for materials and equipment from Indian manufacturers as well as Russian-Indian joint ventures to be established in India. This will be consistent with the need to bring down the project cost and ensure long-term operations of the nuclear power plants.
The Programme of Action also links the localization capabilities developed in India with Russian-assisted nuclear power projects in third countries.
Past agreements with Russia since 2008 in the field of civil nuclear cooperation have made occasional references to localisation, but without associated specifics or timelines. The current Programme of Action, for the first time, identifies specific preparatory steps and their timelines to realize the goal of significant localization.
Under India-Russia civil nuclear cooperation, projects for four reactor units, each of 1 Giga-Watt capacity, are already under implementation at Kudankulam (Units–1 to 4). Both sides have also started discussions for early conclusion of the General Framework Agreement for Kudankulam Units–5&6, each of 1 Giga-Watt capacity. This will be followed by six new reactor units of 1.2 Giga-Watt capacity each, at a second site to be finalised shortly.
Coinciding with the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Moscow, an Integrity Pact for the project for Kudankulam Units–5&6 was signed between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. and the Russian reactor supplier Atomstroyexport.