New Delhi, Mar 03: Upbeat about the India-US civilian nuclear agreement, Tata Group chief Ratan Tata today said his group would be interested in operating a nuclear power plant in the country if the government allows.
"If the government opens up the sector for private investment, Tata Power Company would certainly be interested in operating a nuclear power plant," Tata said at the India-US CEOs forum here.
He said there were tremendous opportunities in nuclear power sector and it will help in mitigating the huge power shortages the country was facing.
So far, nuclear power plants are being operated by state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd, but the landmark agreement paves the way for opening up the sector to
other players.
Nuclear power generation at about 3,300 MW meets less than three per cent of the country's total capacity of about 1,20,000 MW. Thermal power meets 70 per cent of India's requirements, while hydro contributes about 24 per cent.
Tata Power company, which is already present in both thermal and hydro, is among the power sector giants, along with Reliance Energy and public sector NTPC Ltd who are
interested in setting up nuclear power plants in the country if the government permits.
NTPC, country's largest generation company, also has a plan to set up a 2,000 mw capacity nuclear plant by 2017.
Bureau Report
