03-11-2006, 12:58 AM
<b>US-India nuclear deal to spur 100 billion dollars in energy ventures</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->WASHINGTON (AFP) - A landmark US deal extending civilian nuclear technology to India could open up 100 billion dollars in business ventures for Americans in the Indian energy sector, a top US business lobby group said.
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<b>"This agreement could provide the US business community with 100 billion dollars worth of new opportunities in India in the energy sector alone,"</b> said Dan Christman, the US Chamber of Commerce's senior vice president of international affairs.
It would also spur energy-starved India's economic reforms and open markets to US investment in key areas from IT and telecom to pharmaceuticals and insurance, he said as Congress mulled legislative action necessary to clear the deal
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"We have to respect the prerogatives of Congress but we are suggesting India-specific amendments to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954," Nicholas Burns, the undersecretary of state for political affairs, told reporters.
"It's a waiver authority ... We are not seeking relief from US law for any country in the world except India and we don't anticipate putting any country forward. So it is India specific," Burns said after briefing the US Chamber of Commerce on the deal.
The chamber, which represents more than three million American businesses and organizations, said it would make a "massive grassroots effort" to win congressional approval of the agreement.
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<b>"This agreement could provide the US business community with 100 billion dollars worth of new opportunities in India in the energy sector alone,"</b> said Dan Christman, the US Chamber of Commerce's senior vice president of international affairs.
It would also spur energy-starved India's economic reforms and open markets to US investment in key areas from IT and telecom to pharmaceuticals and insurance, he said as Congress mulled legislative action necessary to clear the deal
...........
"We have to respect the prerogatives of Congress but we are suggesting India-specific amendments to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954," Nicholas Burns, the undersecretary of state for political affairs, told reporters.
"It's a waiver authority ... We are not seeking relief from US law for any country in the world except India and we don't anticipate putting any country forward. So it is India specific," Burns said after briefing the US Chamber of Commerce on the deal.
The chamber, which represents more than three million American businesses and organizations, said it would make a "massive grassroots effort" to win congressional approval of the agreement.
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