Pranab Mukherjee too pitches for the Nuclear Deal

External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, who was India’s chief negotiator for the nuclear deal with the US, made it clear on Saturday that the UPA government will not backtrack on the nuclear issue.Mukherjee argued that nuclear power is crucial for the country’s energy security. He said: “We are going for nuclear power not for fun but to meet the requirement for power.’’ Elaborating on the power scenario, Mukherjee pointed out that at present, the country’s nuclear power capacity was a dismal 4,000 MW. “The total power generation capacity of the country is 1.36 lakh MW. The thermal power capacity is over 60,000 MW followed by a 35,000 MW hydel power capacity. The nuclear power capacity is minuscule,’’ he said. Incidentally, less than 2% of power generated in India is from nuclear power, while in advanced countries like France, more than 70% of the total power is nuclear. The figure is over 30% in the United States and other Western countries. As per the growth projection, the country would require to generate 8 lakh MW of power by 2030, Mukherjee said. “We can’t achieve this without nuclear power. Our coal reserves may not be enough to meet such a high demand, leave alone the adverse environmental impact of thermal power,’’ he added. Global nuclear power majors like Areva of France have already evinced interest in setting up nuclear power plants in India. Kirit S Parikh, a member of the Planning Commission and a nuclear expert, had earlier stated that India has a shortage of uranium.