NTPC Ltd and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (npcil) would jointly invest around Rs15,000 crore in the next eight years to set up nuclear power plants in the country. The two public sector corporations have signed an MoU to form a joint venture company to undertake nuclear power projects. The first project, a 2,000-mw nuclear power unit, is expected to come up by 2017. The reactors for the project would be either the indigenously developed 700x2 mw pressurised heavy water variety or the imported light water type sourced from the US, Russia or France. Though the joint venture partners did not disclose the location of the proposed power project, officials were quoted saying that it could come up in one of the southern states. According to the proposal, npcil would hold the majority 51 per cent equity in the venture, while ntpc would hold 49 per cent.