Date:03/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/03/stories/2008100361761200.htm

New Delhi

Business chambers hail passage of deal

Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI: Hailing the passage of the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal by the U.S. Senate, corporate India has urged the Central government to initiate the next steps for building nuclear power generation capacity in a big way so that the private sector could also participate in this energy security process.

In a statement here, Federation of India Chambers of Commerce and the Industry (FICCI) said it believed that the Atomic Energy Act needed to be amended immediately providing for private sector participation. It said the private sector had already acquired capabilities.

Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) president Sajjan Jindal complimented the government for taking the agreement to its logical conclusion and sought a role for the private sector in nuclear power generation.

Mr. Jindal lauded United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, under whose combined leadership, the initiative was given a concrete shape.