India and Russia will sign the nuclear agreement for four additional reactors at Kudankulam when Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visits India in the first week of December.

India needs to increase its electricity generation capacity by nearly six times in the next 20 years in order to feed an economy growing at 7 per cent, industry chiefs said here at the India Economic Summit.

US Senate okays pact with India THE American Senate approved the us-India nuclear deal on October 2. The deal, already cleared by the us House of Representatives, was approved with a majority of 86 votes in favour and 13 against it. On September 6, the Nuclear Suppliers Group (nsg), a 45-member body which controls trade in nuclear fuel and technology, granted a waiver of norms

nuclear energy Private players? Private players may soon be allowed entry into nuclear energy production. Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said as much minutes before he went in to deliberate on the draft Integrated Energy Policy with the plan panel. The law will, however, have to be amended to allow the private sector to set up nuclear plants, he added.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called a meeting of the full Planning Commission on Saturday to discuss the integrated energy policy and deliberate on the country

Our entry into the nuke cabal has become a contentious issue, both domestically and internationally. Three experts debate the pros and cons of the NSG waiver vis-a-vis commerce, technology and strategic affairs.

I S S U E S

Does India stand to gain strategically and in terms of access to technology?

What sort of business prospects would the deal open up?
What are the risks of the deal not yielding the desired benefits?

RAJARAMAN Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics, JNU

Karthik Madhavan

GREETING THE CROWD: Congress president Sonia Gandhi at a public meeting in Erode on Thursday. (From left) Union Minister E.V.K.S. Elangovan; Congress observer for Tamil Nadu Arun Kumar; TNCC president K.V. Thankgabalu and Union Minister G.K. Vasan are in the picture.

ERODE: Congress president Sonia Gandhi has said that nuclear power is crucial for meeting the country