The ongoing wave of protests over the construction of Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu could affect India's ambitious nuclear energy generation and could backfire to deprive the South Asian giant of its critical advantage over China, warns a top Russian expert.
"Public fears, fuelled by the Fukushima accident and exacerbated by the regional politicians' populist slogans, may provoke a chain reaction of problems, hampering power generation development and depriving the Indian economy of its critical advantages over China," writes Konstantin Bogdanov, in a commentary released here by the government-run RIA Novosti.
Kudankulam power plant with two VVER-1000 reactors, being built with the Russian assistance is in the final stages of its commissioning, which has been withheld due to picketing and protests by the local population.
Bogdanov underscored that refusal to modernise the nuclear industry could have far-reaching consequences for the whole of India, such as growing system-wide disproportions in the economy due to the hampered development of the power industry.
"The world's nuclear corporations will lose a prized client. What other country will have enough funds to build several dozen power units? But a much stronger blow will be delivered to India's interests," he warned.
The expert notes that India's goal of priority industrial development, in particular in high-tech sectors, is impossible without modern power generation, especially amid growing rivalry with China for influence in South Asia and in the global division of labour.
Bogdanov points at what he calls the "selective" anti-nuclear sentiments and public wrath in Tamil Nadu.
