With India emerging as one of the biggest markets for nuclear equipments after the end of its international nuclear isolation, the United States on Friday made a strong pitch for its companies saying they were as competitive as anyone else in the business.

Regretting many “inaccurate comments” regarding the position of the US in civil nuclear technology, the US ambassador to India, David C Mulford, said his country remained at the forefront of nuclear technology and was at par with the best.

“The US ranks number one in the world in terms of the number of nuclear reactors (104) with 24 per cent of the world’s total. The second placed France has only 13.4 per cent of the total reactors,” he said at a CII-sponsored seminar on “Indo-US Cooperation in Nuclear Energy: The Path Forward”.

“... contrary to popular comment in India, over the last 15 years, the US civil nuclear engineering companies have remained at the forefront of international civil nuclear engineering. They have modernised and upgraded our nuclear industry, keeping it the most efficient and competitive in the world,” he said.

Mulford said the US companies were ready to participate — “from tomorrow, if asked” — in the expansion of the Indian nuclear industry.

India is already in talks with two US companies, General Electric and Westing House, for buying equipments for construction of its nuclear reactors. Mulford said India was poised to become the “birthplace” of a major international civil nuclear industry, but said there were many challenges on the way. “Building a large world class civil nuclear industry will take time, capital, ingenuity, competitive technology, a sound regulatory architecture, private sector input, and a true political commitment to excellence,” he said.