To sustain blistering annual growth of more than 9 per cent, India is urgently seeking more sources of energy. The country has 132,000MW of energy capacity for its population of 1.1bn, compared with installed capacity in the US of 850,000MW for a population of 300m.

Nuclear energy accounts for less than 3 per cent of the country’s power generation but has been in the spotlight because of a landmark deal with the US that, if finalised, would allow India to significantly ramp up its nuclear energy programme. The US has prohibited civil nuclear co-operation with India for 30 years because the country developed nuclear weapons and has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.