IAEA: China, India lead nuclear development

China and India will outpace the rest of the world in nuclear power growth over the next 20 years, Yury Sokolov, deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) and head of its nuclear energy department, said Monday. Sokolov made his remarks at an IAEA symposium at which officials discussed the merits of nuclear power, state media reported. China began its nuclear energy program in 1991 with the installation of a single 300-megawatt (MW) unit and has since expanded the country's nuclear output to 9,000MW. At the current pace, nuclear output is expected to grow to 40,000MW by 2020. Sokolov said that nuclear power was China's best energy option to meet the its immense population's needs while reducing impact on the environment.