His ministry's calculations, which predate China's announcement, allegedly show that such emission-curbing steps could reduce the carbon intensity of India's economy by around 25% by 2020 compared with 2005 levels.

ECONOMIST: What India has to offer in Copenhagen

Extensions to such power stations' lives were originally agreed in order to meet anticipated power shortages and to reduce the use of fossil fuels to help meet different countries' carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reductions commitments.

BBC: Will Japanese crisis curb the rise of nuclear power?