L&T delivers cargo

Friday, 14 January 2011 India based engineering company Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has delivered its first nuclear equipment consignment to a US company. Four dry shielded canisters, manufactured to US standards, were delivered to Areva-subsidiary Transnuclear. They form part of a larger order of 50 such units which are intended for operators of US nuclear plants. L&T is currently the only Indian manufacturer with nuclear accreditations from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Optimistic about the delivery, L&T president of heavy engineering M Kotwal noted, "this marks an international recognition of our capabilities and also the first steps in participating in the potentially large global nuclear equipment market." For 34 years India was largely excluded from trade in nuclear technology or materials with other nuclear countries, because it did not have a full-scope safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Special agreements signed in 2009 effectively ended these restrictions.