Pankaj Agarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Power, held a meeting in New Delhi with Bernard Fontana, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EDF, France, to review the ongoing engagement between India and EDF on the proposed deployment of EPR reactors in India. Officials from the Ministry of Power, Ministry of External Affairs, Central Electricity Authority (CEA), NTPC Limited and NPCIL attended the meeting on behalf of India, while representatives from EDF and the Embassy of France in India participated from the French side.
The discussions centred on the deployment of EPR technology, India’s regulatory reforms for the nuclear sector, cooperation on pumped hydro storage projects, and the way forward for a robust, mutually beneficial partnership.
EDF apprised the Indian side of its efforts to build an ecosystem and supply chain in India for large-scale localization, and reiterated that a sizeable programme with multiple nuclear reactors would give suppliers confidence and enable economies of scale by leveraging Indian industry’s capabilities.
Secretary (Power) briefed the French side on the progress made in finalizing India’s regulatory framework for the nuclear power sector, including the Draft SHANTI (Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India) Rules and Regulations, placed by the Department of Atomic Energy in the public domain for stakeholder consultation. The Rules provide for a streamlined, time-bound licensing framework and enable participation of private and foreign partners in India’s nuclear power programme.
The two sides also discussed cooperation on pumped hydro storage projects, building on the proposed NTPC-EDF joint venture in this area.
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