The Tatas are already involved in the production of some defence equipment. “I won’t be surprised if Tata Power, a leading power producer, firms up plans in the nuclear generation,” said a corporate source who did not wish to be identified.

Besides, the opening up of the sector will also boost the growth of a host of ancillary industries. “As the government moves ahead with the nuclear deal, we expect very significant opportunities in the sector. Punj Lloyd group is well positioned to leverage this opportunity as Simon Carves UK (its client) has over 3.5 million man-hours of experience in nuclear facilities in the UK and Punj Lloyd has the construction capabilities in the sector,” Punj Lloyd said.

According to a KPMG study on ‘India Energy Outlook’, private participation in nuclear energy is likely to be allowed as and when the Indo-US Nuclear deal goes through. “India’s power and upstream energy sectors such as coal, oil & gas need investments to the tune of $120-150 billion over the next five years,” it had said.

Anticipating the green signal for the deal, ONGC had recently decided to go overseas to hunt for uranium. It recently proposed to form a joint venture company with Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL). Besides exploration and mining of uranium, ONGC and UCIL will take up milling/ processing of uranium ore besides storage, packaging and transportation of yellowcake and products trading.

Though entry of private sector will take time, plans for tie-ups are set to intensify in corporate boardrooms

... contd.