NEW DELHI, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- India's lower house of parliament approved a crucial civilian nuclear liability bill on Wednesday in a bid to open its nuclear market after decades of isolation from the world.
The parliament's move is widely believed to aim to attract foreign companies, especially American companies, to invest and build nuclear facilities in the country.
India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the parliament on Wednesday that India could not ignore the option of nuclear power to meet its rising energy needs.
The new bill, if going into effect, will end the "nuclear isolation" that India suffered for three decades, he said during a debate.
The international communities banned India from obtaining nuclear technologies and fuels in 1974 when it conducted nuclear tests and refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
But the country has been making efforts to expand its nuclear power generation capacity to relieve coal-based plants or large dams.
Currently, only 3 percent of power used in India reportedly comes from nuclear energy. The government expected that the share could rise to 25 percent by 2025.
India's potential nuclear energy market is estimated at 150 billion U.S.dollars.
