"There is today talk the would over of a nuclear renaissance. We cannot afford to miss the bus or lag behind these global developments," Manmohan Singh said during a visit to nuclear energy installations near India's financial capital Mumbai.

"India is now too important a country to remain outside the mainstream in nuclear power growth," he said, adding the country could "double its nuclear power generation target by opening up to international cooperation."

India's minority Congress government is in the midst of a major row over the implementation of a nuclear cooperation accord with the United States, with its communist allies vowing to block the deal.

The pact is seen as the cornerstone of deeper ties with Washington, and seeks to bring energy-hungry India into the fold of global atomic commerce after a three-decade gap.

Opponents, including the communists who oppose strategic ties with Washington, say the deal threatens India's sovereignty, notably the continued development of its nuclear weapons programme.

But Singh sought to dismiss fears of dependence on the United States, asserting that future nuclear "cooperation will not be dependent on any one country."

"We will source supplies from many of the countries in the Nuclear Suppliers Group, including the US, Russia, France and Japan," he said.

On Thursday India's foreign minister said the government would set up a committee to review objections to the deal with the US, and "examine the implications of the nuclear agreement on foreign policy and security cooperation."

The opposition from the communists raised concerns that India may be headed for mid-term elections if the leftists withdraw their support from the government over the issue.

But speaking at Tarapur in Maharashtra state, the site of India's largest operating nuclear power facility, Singh underlined that nuclear energy was crucial to India sustaining a high economic growth rate.

Official data on Friday showed India's economy grew by a strong 9.3 percent in the first quarter. The country of 1.1 billion people has the fastest expanding major economy after China.

"I have no doubt whatsoever that the sustainability of our long-term economic growth is critically dependent on our ability to meet our energy requirements of the future," Singh said.

"Our proven resources of coal, oil, gas and hydropower are totally insufficient to meet our requirements ... We do not enjoy the luxury of an either-or choice: India needs energy from all known and likely sources," he said.

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