India to build 10 more nuclear reactors with Russia

NEW DELHI, Dec 11 (AFP): Russian diamond mining giant Alrosa said it will sign a slew of deals with Indian buyers during President Vladimir Putin's visit Thursday, seeking to counter the threat of Western sanctions.
Andrey Polyakov, vice president of the world's biggest diamond miner by production volume, said the deals were a "win-win" for Russia and India, which is seeking to boost its trade in the precious stones.
"We are going to sign 12 three-year contracts" through 2017, Polyakov told AFP in New Delhi. "It's a win-win deal."
"The deals will permit us to have a predictable diamond market. The demand for diamonds is growing in India and (traders) must be comfortable about the supply."
Russia is the world's top producer of rough diamonds and the majority of them pass through India, where a cheap workforce cuts and polishes the gemstones before most are exported again for use in jewellery.
But only about a fifth of rough produce is sold directly from Russian mines to India, with the rest passing through diamond hubs such as Antwerp and Dubai.
EU and US sanctions imposed on Russia for backing Ukraine's rebels and annexing the Black Sea province of Crimea have bitten deeply into the country's faltering economy.
No sanctions have yet been imposed on the diamond industry, but Russian miners are eager to protect themselves against the threat.
"It is easy to impose sanctions. But sanctions would kill the diamond centres in Antwerp," said Polyakov.
The former head of the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, an Indian trade body, said the Alrosa deals would greatly benefit small Indian diamond traders, who currently rely on middlemen for supplies, and could lead to lower prices for consumers.
"It will reduce transaction costs and will help the small traders plan better. Probably prices will come down as well for the end user," said Sanjay Kothari.
Meanwhile, Energy-starved India is to build at least 10 more nuclear reactors with Russia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday after talks with President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi.
"We have outlined an ambitious vision for nuclear energy of at least 10 more reactors," Modi said at a press briefing.
"It will have the highest standards of safety in the world. It will also include manufacture of equipment and components in India," he said.
Russia has supplied two reactors to a plant at Kudankulam in southern India under a long-delayed agreement, and has been pushing to supply many more after deals were signed in 2010 and 2008.
Putin's visit was his first to India since Modi was elected in May, and comes as sanctions-hit Moscow seeks to strengthen energy, defence and strategic ties in Asia.
The president is seeking new markets for Russia's natural resources as its economy reels under US and EU sanctions over its backing of an uprising in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea.
The two countries on Thursday signed 16 agreements including a deal for Russia to manufacture in India one of its most advanced helicopters and a proposal to set up factories to make Russian spare parts for military equipment.
Russia has traditionally supplied 70 per cent of India's military hardware.
India, whose domestic industry struggles to manufacture high-tech arms, is in the middle of a defence spending binge.
Total bilateral trade stands at just $10 billion a year despite strong Russia-India ties that date back to the 1950s after the death of Stalin.