‘N- deal to be in place by May’

MUMBAI: Even as the India-US civilian nuclear deal awaits congressional “clearance within the next few days,” representatives of top American nuclear firms are already here scouring for lucrative opportunities in this sector.

“The bill before being signed by president George Bush need to be merged and approved by both the US House and the Senate. It has not yet been done, but it may happen in the next 4-5 days,” US ambassador to India David Mulford said on the sidelines of the US-India Business summit Thursday. “I think all the crucial parts of the deal will be in place by May next year,” he said.

The deal intends to do away with a three-decade ban on nuclear trade between India and the US as a result of New Delhi’s refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968.

However, the delay in the finalisation of the deal has not deterred the bullish American nuclear companies looking for business opportunities in the country. “There are about 20 representative of US nuclear companies who are attending the India-US Business Summit here looking for opportunities in the nuclear sector in India,” said US Under Secretary of Commerce and International Trade Franklin Lavin Thursday.

Leading the delegation, Lavin said: “We see a huge scope for American firms in participation and investment in nuclear power fuel development in India.”

“We are in the discussion stage with the Indian government and 4-5 energy production companies to sell nuclear reactor technology and we expect a positive response soon once the US-India civil nuclear deals gets through the Congress,” he said.

The largest-ever US business delegation with over 225 top corporate leaders to explore investment opportunities in India is focusing mainly on three crucial areas - energy, infrastructure and agriculture, the US trade official said. “These are compelling fields for collaboration between American and Indian firms.

The Indian leadership understands that these three areas must have private sector participation to meet the challenge of the estimated infrastructure investment requirements of $300 billion over the next five years,” said the US delegation leader.

The US delegation includes energy majors AES, Exxon and GE, telecom majors Motorola and AT&T, hi-tech equipment manufacturer Avaya, chemicals giant Dow, IT major IBM and defence company Lockheed Martin.