New Delhi [India], May 21 (ANI): US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Wednesday said “big things” lie ahead in India-US collaboration in the nuclear energy sector.

Responding to a post by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis regarding a meeting with an executive delegation of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) under the ‘US Nuclear Executive Mission to India’, Gor said, “Big things ahead in India-US collaboration on Nuclear energy!”

Fadnavis said that significant changes are taking place in the global energy transition process. Although Maharashtra has been making substantial investments in solar and wind energy for many years, nuclear energy will become essential for carbon-free and industrial-scale baseload power supply.

More than 40 per cent of India’s total foreign investment comes to Maharashtra. Nearly 60% of the country’s data centre capacity is concentrated in the Mumbai and Navi Mumbai areas. Sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, logistics, and advanced manufacturing are rising on a large scale in Maharashtra, which will lead to a manifold increase in electricity demand in the coming years.

India will become a country with rapidly growing electricity demand over the next several decades, and Maharashtra will be its largest industrial component, Chief Minister Fadnavis noted. Nuclear power will be crucial for the future industrial economy. Maharashtra is ready to lead the transformation in the nuclear energy sector, and he appealed to American companies to invest in Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, the US Embassy in India posted a video where Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US wishes to celebrate its 250th birthday with Indian partners.

“As America gets ready to celebrate our 250th birthday, we look forward to doing it with our partners in India. India is the world’s largest democracy, and we are the world’s oldest. So we look forward to celebrating together,” he said. (ANI)