‘This dialogue began in the Nehruvian era’

Why do we need power in a developing nation? It is to see that development takes place continuously. We need power coupled with infrastructure.

What is the power requirement, as of today? It is 6,08,400 million units. Only 5,54,248 million units are available. Nuclear energy’s contribution is only 3,700 MW. We should have achieved 10,000 MW in 2000 itself. That has not happened. By 2020, we need 20,000 MW of nuclear power.

Why has the nation not been able to develop the nuclear option? It is because the implements and technology have not been available to us. The NSG countries are not in a position to supply these to India because of sanctions.

So, as far as power is concerned, we should also go for hydro power, wind energy, coal energy and power from fossil fuels. The last option is nuclear power, but we should not miss this opportunity.

Hence, in July, 2005 when Dr Manmohan Singh met George Bush, he entered into a dialogue — the genesis of this dialogue lies in the Nehruvian era. Our country has never agreed to any diktat of any foreign country and we have never compromised with our foreign policy. Our foreign policy is constant and we will not change it.