India and Russia has signed an agreement on setting up of two more units of a nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu.
Both nations have signed the General Framework Agreement and Credit protocol for Units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power plant.
The two sides signed five agreements, which included one on setting up of Units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu with the Russian help. India and Russia have agreed in joint plans to erect 12 NPP units of Russian design.
The reactors will be built by India’s Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and Russia’s Atomstroyexport company, a subsidiary of Rosatom, the regulatory body of the Russian nuclear complex. Each of the two units will have a capacity to produce 1,000 MW of power.
The current nuclear power generation capacity of all 22 nuclear power reactors is 6780 MW.
The other pacts included a contract for a high-speed train service between Nagpur and Secunderabad, an MoU for export of precious stones and jewellery and a programme on cultural exchanges.
The two countries also decided to hold the first tri- Services exercises, named ‘Indra-2017’, this year and start joint manufacturing of frigates, adding on to the co- production of Kamov-226 military helicopters.
India and Russia is celebrating the 70th anniversary of their relations.
India and Russia commit themselves to earnestly implement the “Programme of Action for Localisation in India” signed on December 24, 2015, and to encourage their nuclear industries to engage closely and foster concrete collaborations.
The document titled ‘A vision for the 21st Century’ said economies of India and Russia complement each other in the energy sector and both countries will strive to build an “energy bridge“.