Indian PM `Committed’ to Atomic Power as Allies Protest

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India is committed to atomic power after his communist allies threatened to withdraw support to the ruling coalition because of a nuclear accord with the U.S.

India needs alternative sources of energy to lift annual economic growth to 10 percent as the nation’s oil import bill is an “unbearable burden” on Asia’s fourth-largest economy, Singh said in a speech in New Delhi.
The communist parties have warned Singh of “serious consequences” if the government proceeds with the nuclear accord with the U.S. The agreement would allow India to purchase reactors from Areva SA, General Electric Co. and other producers to help plug an electricity shortfall that shaves two percentage points off annual economic growth.

“I urge political parties to appreciate the vital national interest of pursuing a sound energy security strategy,” Singh said at the opening ceremony of an energy research institute dedicated to the memory of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. “India is on the move and we must be able to address growing energy demands. No government can afford to shirk this responsibility and hope to find favor with the people.”

India’s $854 billion economy has grown at an average 8.6 percent pace since 2003, the fastest expansion since the country’s independence in 1947. Oil imports in June rose 10 percent to $5.6 billion from a year earlier, the government said Aug. 1.

“As we grow, our growing import bill for crude oil will put an unbearable burden on our economy,” Singh said.

Bloomberg