Indian Civil Nuclear News & Discussions.

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India to sign nuclear convention


In an attempt to clear the ground for civil nuclear cooperation with the United States before the arrival of President Barack Obama, India plans to sign a critical international agreement that defines the terms of liability and compensation in the event of an atomic accident.


Called the Convention on the Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage, the treaty has been at the centre of intense negotiations in the last few weeks between Delhi, Washington, the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna and the major international corporations involved in atomic power generation.


While the US nuclear industry has raised concerns that the recently enacted Indian legislation on civil nuclear liability is not in tune with the international standards defined by the CSC, the UPA government has insisted otherwise.


While the lawyers from both sides will continue to explore the issue, India’s signature on the CSC is likely to create the legal and diplomatic space for moving forward.



In the last few weeks, India has been hinting at the possibility of signing the treaty, which sources say will bring major benefits to India in terms of additional compensation to victims of nuclear accidents beyond that offered by the domestic legislation as well as address some the potential trans-border issues that could emerge out of India’s plans to build a large nuclear industry.


Government sources briefing reporters here on Obama’s visit were not willing to say when exactly India will sign the CSC. The Cabinet is expected to take a decision on this shortly.


“We hope to wrap up the all the governmental work on the liability issue before the president’s visit so that the corporations on the two sides can begin to find their way forward”, sources here said.


The nuclear liability issue figured prominently in the talks between the Indian government and the visiting US Under Secretary of State William Burns who was here earlier this week to finalise the agenda for Obama’s visit.


Burns also briefed the Indian government on its new package of military assistance to Pakistan, worth $ 2. 29 billion, before it was announced in Washington on Friday.


In response, the sources said, Delhi laid out two major concerns. One was about the likelihood of Pakistan “misusing this assistance against India” and the other was about the “impact on the military balance” between Islamabad and Delhi.


While it has noted the Obama Administration’s recent rejection of Pakistan’s calls for US mediation on Kashmir, Delhi is fully aware of the possibility of major violent incidents being engineered in the sensitive state on the eve of the President’s trip.


The sources pointed to the pattern of major terror attacks before the visits of Presidents Bill Clinton (March 2000) and George W. Bush (March 2006) with a view to internationalise the Kashmir question.


The sources were reluctant to spell out the specific outcomes from Obama’s visit. A range of issues are said to be under discussion and these include liberalisation of US controls on high technology exports to India and the US support for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council.


Among the US priorities are expanded market access to a range of American goods. Officials form the commerce ministry are said to be reviewing the wish list of the Obama Administration.


The sources say the negotiations on possible agreements to be announced during Obama’s visit could go right down to the wire as it happened in the run-up to the earlier summits between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Bush. With two weeks to go before Obama arrives—in Mumbai on November —¿there is time and space to shape the final outcomes of the President’s visit to India the sources said.

 

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NEW DELHI—General Electric Co. expects to grow its business in India by 30% annually over the next several years as Asia's third-largest economy offers huge opportunities in transportation, nuclear reactors and many other sectors, the chief executive of its local unit said Monday.

"We are huge optimists on India overall," John L. Flannery told The Wall Street Journal in an interview. "The country has incredible depth and breadth and momentum behind it...The government has done a great job in developing markets, while private companies here are phenomenal."

Mr. Flannery's comments come as the U.S.-based conglomerate last week named Vice Chairman John G. Rice to head all non-U.S. markets, with particular emphasis on high-growth areas such as China, India, the Middle East and Brazil.

Mr. Flannery didn't disclose the company's annual sales in India but said "it is a significant number right now, but not clearly where we think it should be or could be. The focus for me is to grow this business significantly."

GE expects the transportation business to become a major revenue driver in India. Its transportation subsidiary has emerged as one of two qualified to bid for a contract to supply more than 1,000 diesel locomotives to the Indian railways over 10 years.

"I look at transportation and see that could be a multi-billion dollar business for us down the road," he said.

GE, one of the few nuclear reactor technology providers globally, could also benefit from a boom in India's nuclear power business once the government finalizes rules to determine the levels of compensation various nuclear energy chain players would have to pay in the event of an accident.

"I am hopeful the framework can come out in a way that would help us to participate" in India's nuclear business, Mr. Flannery said. "I would expect over time it would become a good business for us in India."

He said the Indian growth story could extend for up to 30 years.

"There is a long-term, high and sustained growth (possibility) in India, a 10-, 20-, 30-year horizon for growth. Energy and health care are the biggest businesses for us today. But, I think a number of (other) sectors would grow heavily."

He said GE employs 15,000 people in India and plans to hire more than 1,000 a year over the next several years.

Mr. Flannery said the company hasn't been active in India on the mergers and acquisition front but continues to seek such opportunities.

"We would like to acquire something," he said. "That's a business strategy globally for us. We would like to do work on that front as we haven't done much (in India)."


GE Expects India Sales to Grow 30% Annually - WSJ.com

 

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Indian Oil to Invest $211 Million in Nuclear Project - Bloomberg

Indian Oil Corp., the nation’s largest state-run refiner, will invest 9.61 billion rupees ($211 million) in a nuclear power plant being built jointly with Nuclear Power Corp., Oil Minister Murli Deora said.

The New Delhi-based refiner will take a 26 percent stake in the Rajasthan Atomic Power Project, and has the option to raise its share to 49 percent, Deora told lawmakers on Nov. 16, according to a government press statement.

The atomic project being built by state-run Nuclear Power Corp. of India in the western state of Rajasthan will cost a total of 123.21 billion rupees, Deora said. Indian Oil’s board approved the investment in September, he said.

Indian Oil shares rose 2.1 percent to 398 rupees in Mumbai trading at 12:15 p.m. local time. The stock has gained 30 percent this year compared with the 14 percent increase in the benchmark Sensitive index.

 

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'Kudankulam N-reactor to be operational by early next year'` - The Economic Times
MOSCOW: Construction of India's first large nuclear power plant has been completed at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu and it will be made operational by early next year, a top Russian official has said.

Russia's state-run nuclear firm Atomstroyexport, which is carrying out the project with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), said the main equipment at the 1,000 mw capacity reactor has already been installed and currently various tests are being conducted to make it operational.

"The project is ready as on today. The main equipment has been tested and is in operation. The plant should go critical early next year," said Georgy O Kumani, vice president of Atomstroyexport.

He, however, said the date for operationalisation of the plant will be decided by NPCIL.

Currently, reactors in Tarapur atomic plant have highest capacity with each of the two reactors having a power production capacity of 540 mw.

Kumani said there is "no unsolved problems" in the unit which can create "stumbling blocks" for its early operationalisation. The work on the project had begun three years back.

The second unit of Kudankulam power plant is expected to be made operational within a year of commissioning of unit-1.

The then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and then USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev had signed an agreement for the project in 1988 but it remained in limbo for 10 years due to political and economic upheaval in Soviet Union and its breakup in 1991.

The negotiations were held again in 2000 and MoU for the project was signed between India and Russia.

Asked about key features of the nuclear power plant, Kumani said the "best safety features" have been incorporated in the plant.

"This is a first kind of unit, probably in the whole world, having best safety features. As for example a technology called passive heat removing system has been installed in the unit for the first time in any nuclear power plant in the world," he said.

Kumani said considering the huge potential in the nuclear sector in India, Atomstroyexport has decided to set up a production unit to manufacture equipment required in construction of atomic power plants.

Cooperation between India and Russia in the nuclear field will increase further as India is our long-standing partner, he said.

 

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Canada ready to ratify nuclear treaty with India

Canada ready to ratify nuclear treaty with India News


New Delhi, June 16 (IANS) A year after India and Canada signed a civil nuclear cooperation deal, the latter is ready to ratify the agreement, a Canadian diplomat said Thursday.

‘We are ready for ratification any day now,’ Deputy High Commissioner Jim Nickel told reporters here.

‘We will wait till both sides are ready and we will then announce it together,’ he said, adding negotiations were on with the department of atomic energy.

He added that both countries were going through the agreement, and once the procedures are over, the treaty will come to force.

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Rolls-Royce appoints senior nuclear specialist in India

Business Line : Companies News : Rolls-Royce appoints senior nuclear specialist in India


New Delhi, June 16:

Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, has announced the appointment of Mr Atul Tandon as Executive Vice-President, Civil Nuclear-India. The senior level appointment has been done with a view to position itself as a strong player in the evolving Indian atomic industry, the company said in a statement.

Rolls-Royce has extensive capabilities across the nuclear cycle, from concept design to through-life and life-extension. Its nuclear expertise spans high value engineering and manufacturing, licensing, project and supply chain management. Rolls-Royce is a world-leader in digital safety instrumentation and control for nuclear power plants.

 

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BARC sets up ‘virtual’ nuclear data physics centre

The Hindu : Sci-Tech / Science : BARC sets up ‘virtual’ nuclear data physics centre
PTI
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An overall view of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. File Photo

The Hindu An overall view of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. File Photo

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has set up a ‘virtual’ nuclear data physics centre to enable greater visibility of India’s research in this area at the global platform.

Department of Atomic Energy and Board of Research in Nuclear Science of the government of India have already sanctioned funds for three years (2011-2014) for the NDPCI, S Ganesan, Head of Nuclear Data Section, Reactor Physics Design Division and Project-in-Charge, NDPCI told PTI.

The basic nuclear data physics research is essential in shaping concepts of nuclear power of advanced reactor designs and safety, he said.

With BARC acting as the nodal agency, NDPCI, will serve as the main hub for overall coordination of nuclear data activities in India with members drawn from national laboratories and universities.

“The NDPCI at BARC is promoting the use of accurate nuclear data and its physics usage in all applications including in development of indigenous software for Monte Carlo codes and discrete ordinate codes for advanced reactor applications,” Mr. Ganesan said.

The nuclear scientist said India became the 14th member of the International Network of Nuclear Reaction Data Centres (NRDC) in 2008 after being invited to join the international network.

NRDC constitutes a worldwide cooperation of nuclear data centres under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria. The Network was established in the early sixties to coordinate the world-wide collection, compilation and dissemination of nuclear reaction data.

Last month, India participated as a full member of International Network of Nuclear Reaction Data Centres (NRDC) at the IAEA, Ganesan said.

“India has been carrying out a number of original nuclear data physics activities during the last six years. The members of NRDC were all in praise for BARC for these new initiatives in nuclear data physics and especially for contributing more than 200 Indian EXFOR (internationally agreed format for the Raw Experimental Numerical Nuclear Physics Data) entries based upon Indian nuclear physics experiments, since 2006,” he said.

Mr. Ganesan said the roadmap of NDPCI will cover a wide range of power and non-power applications including medical applications in the Indian context with a balance of nuclear data physics activities by a well-defined team of nuclear physicists, engineers, mathematicians, radio-chemists and software information management.

Introduction of EXFOR culture in people including in basic nuclear physics has become relatively an easier task with the new managerial initiatives of NDPCI holding phenomenally successful EXFOR workshops in different parts of India, he said.

NDPCI has been very successful in roping people from various fields (Nuclear Physics, Reactor and Radiochemistry Divisions of DAE’s basic research establishments and others) and students and staff from various universities across India.

“It is a very unique activity where both experimentalists and theoreticians were covered,” Mr. Ganesan said.

NDPCI is evolving a strong community of EXFOR compilers in India. Regular staff to perform EXFOR compilations is being planned, he said.

NDPCI is identifying university staff and awarding contracts on EXFOR compilations. The first such DAE-BRNS contract has already been awarded to Prof. Betylda Jyrwa, North Eastern University, Shillong, Meghalaya in May 2011, Mr. Ganesan said.

Since the discovery of neutron, there are more than 18,932 experimental data including neutron induced reaction, charged particle induced reactions and photon induced reaction. “India’s contribution of 200 entries is considered very significant by the international community,” Mr. Ganesan said.

Stressing on the importance of NDPCI, he said even after more than six decades since the discovery of nuclear fission process, the basic nuclear physics experimental data continues to remain more uncertain than the target accuracies needed by reactor designers who rigorously desire to propagate error in simulations.

Therefore, experimental critical facility programme to enable integral validation studies is also an essential part of any serious nuclear programme to speed up implementation of nuclear energy, he said.

“This programme requires covariance data at differential and integral level,” Mr. Ganesan emphasised.

Basic physics understanding and better data physics of nuclear interactions continue to be rigorously sought by nuclear design communities in order to extrapolate conditions in power plants such as higher burn-up and higher temperatures, which are not covered in the room temperature fresh core one-to-one mock experiments.

“The safety and operational requirements of existing power plants have been engineered with a number of one-to-one mockup experiments providing adequate and conservative safety margins,” he said

Yet another ongoing activity of NDPCI is criticality benchmarking of reactors which helps in integrally validating nuclear data and methods of computer simulations.

In 2005, Indian scientists completed successfully the criticality benchmarking of the 30 kilowatt KAMINI research reactor (the only U-233 fuelled reactor operating in the world) operating at Kalpakkam which was completed, peer reviewed and published in the International Handbook of Evaluated Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments (ICSBEP).

“Interestingly after India joined the select band of countries and contributed Kamini Benchmark, the Indian scientists are able to access all the benchmark specifications for over 4,400 experimental benchmark documents of other countries,” Mr. Ganesan added.

In 2008, the international benchmarking of PURNIMA-II (Uranium 233-nitrate solution) reactor has been completed and already accepted by the IAEA and US department of Energy.

Presently, India has undertaken the international benchmarking procedures for the experimental reactor PURNIMA-I. The benchmarking of PURNIMA-I, India’s first fast reactor fuelled with plutonium oxide that went critical in 1972 was completed recently and critical international peer review is in progress.

“The benchmark specifications are intended for use by criticality safety engineers to validate calculation techniques safety margins for operations with fissile material,” he added.

 

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The Hindu : News / National : Indian campaign for NSG 'building up'


Indian campaign for NSG 'building up'
Sandeep Dikshit
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Although India is bracing itself for a set back at the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) on the transfer of enrichment and reprocessing technology (ENR), it is going ahead with the campaign for membership of four multilateral export control regimes – the NSG itself, the Missile Technology Control regime (MTCR), the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Australia group.

"We have expressed India’s deep reservations with the move to withhold transfer of ENR technology [to India] which would dilute the whole message of exemption given to India in September 2008," Government sources said here on Sunday.

India is piqued over the slowly snowballing move to deny ENR to countries not signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. South Block’s position has remained the same since it was encapsulated by Wikileaks in November 2009 when Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told her American interlocutors that any attempt to deny ENR to India would amount to a "roll-back" of the NSG decision that made India a partner, and that India can’t be seen as "half in and half out (of the NSG)."

Undeterred, India is "building up its campaign'' for membership of the four bodies. "Our outreach programme is going on. We don’t believe the next NSG meeting will decide on India’s membership but would like time lines so that a positive decision is there for the four processes," said the sources while describing the feedback from major players like the US, Russia and France as "positive".

The sources discounted reports about the Indo-Pak dispute being a hurdle for membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). "There is no obstruction. The path is much clearer after SCO members reached a consensus on expansion.

"The External Affairs Minister at the recent [SCO] summit was able to articulate India’s interest for development, security, anti-terrorism and increased connectivity. There is no problem on that score [SCO membership]. I am confident when the membership is open, India will be admitted," the sources said.

 

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Safety of nuclear power plants being upgraded: AEC chief
Act to have a new independent regulatory authority being introduced in Parliament

The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Main News

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 18
Three months after Fukushima, now regarded as among the world’s worst nuclear incidents, India has just completed a major safety review of its 20 operating nuclear power plants that generate 5,000 MW daily. In all these plants, steps are being taken to augment its backup power supply and inventory of water storage apart from putting up tsunami protection walls and mini-wave breakers to prevent a Fukushima like incident from occurring.

“Our record of nuclear safety has so far been impeccable and we have taken steps after Fukushima to ensure that it remains so,” Dr Srikumar Banerjee, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), told Raj Chengappa, Editor-in-Chief, The Tribune Group of Newspapers, in an exclusive interview at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Trombay. Banerjee stated that measures are being taken to ensure that all future nuclear plants have advanced safety measures to avoid a Fukushima like incident from occurring.

In March this year, a major earthquake measuring over 9 on the Richter scale had struck the Japanese coast resulting in a towering tsunami that swamped the Fukushima nuclear complex apart from causing widespread death and destruction. It resulted in a total power black-out in the complex that saw engineers unable to pump water to cool the reactors. That saw the heat getting out of control resulting in a series of explosions that blew the reactors containment buildings and saw the reactor cores experiencing a partial meltdown. There was also radioactive leak that threatened citizens around the complex and some parts of Japan.

In the interview to The Tribune, the AEC chief revealed that an intensive review was done of all the existing nuclear plants by the Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC), the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and BARC. After getting the opinions from all these institutions the NPC was in the process of implementing the recommendations. Among the measures suggested and already have been implemented is providing mobile diesel generation units as an additional back up for power plants. The access roads to each of these plants were reviewed and expanded wherever necessary. “The focus was particularly on redundancy in back-up power supply and augmenting water supply for cooling to take out excess heat if required,” Banerjee said.

Responding to criticism that the AERB, the country’s premier nuclear safety board, is far from independent as it has to report to the Atomic Energy Commission, Banerjee said that the Prime Minister has already announced the setting up of an independent nuclear regulatory authority. He told The Tribune: “I am not saying that the AERB is not independent; it is independent. But the AERB is created by an executive order. Now it is important that it should get a statutory status-that it is formed by an Act of Parliament. The Prime Minister has announced that a new Act would be introduced in the forthcoming monsoon session to facilitate this.”

Banerjee revealed that the Department of Atomic Energy is working on the draft of the Act that will ensure that the new regulatory body would be independent of the Atomic Energy Commission. He said: “It is an important step because apart from the legal status, it will be broadening its activity and can receive technical support from different organisations. Its activities will be transparent. We have nothing to hide. Let it be out in the open.”

 

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Germany eases export control laws for India's nuclear sector news

domain-b.com : Germany eases export control laws for India's nuclear sector
18 June 2011


New Delhi: Germany announced Friday easing of export control laws which will allow India access to dual use items. The development will immensely benefit the expanding nuclear energy sector.

"India has been removed from the list of countries subject to national export control restrictions. Now, India will be treated by us just like any other EU country," German ambassador, Thomas Matussek, said.

The move comes after a request made by Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh to German chancellor Angela Merkel last year to relax export control laws which would allow high technology trade with India.

The export control laws were modified by Germany a week before Merkel's 31 May visit to India.

"One week before the chancellor's visit to India, Germany modified its export control legislation vis-a-vis India. We have repealed our restrictions for the export of goods for nuclear power plants," ambassador Matussek said.

 

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The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Main News


‘We are for an independent nuclear safety body. We have nothing to hide’
— Dr. Srikumar Banerjee, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission

uneasy lies the crown on the head of any atomic energy chief across the world after the Fukushima nuclear complex incident in Japan in March this year. Triggered by a combination of an earthquake and a tsunami that resulted in a partial meltdown of its reactor core, Fukushima is now regarded as among the world’s worst nuclear power incidents. Feeling the heat is the czar of India's nuclear energy establishment, Dr Srikumar Banerjee, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy.

In recent years India had signed a major nuclear deal with the US that enabled it to import nuclear fuel and technology ending an embargo that had lasted over three decades. India was poised to exponentially expand its nuclear power capacity by importing reactors from France, Russia and USA and also by building indigenous plants. But the Fukushima episode has not only forced India's nuclear establishment to review the safety of its existing nuclear power plants but also raised questions about the viability of its entire power programme. In an exclusive interview with Editor-in-Chief Raj Chengappa at the famed Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Trombay, the AEC Chief Banerjee candidly discussed a range of vital issues confronting nuclear power in India and stoutly defended India's decision to go ahead with its rapid expansion. Excerpts:

After the Fukushima nuclear complex incident in Japan in March this year in which its reactors suffered a dangerous meltdown under the combined impact of an earthquake and tsunami, there are valid concerns being raised about the safety of nuclear plants worldwide including those located in India. Just how safe are Indian nuclear reactors and what are the chances of a Fukushima happening here?

As regards the nuclear safety record of India we have what we call 335 reactor years of experience. There has not been a single major incident. People say that the Narora event (in 1993) was the most serious. At Narora, there was a fire (in the non-nuclear turbine section) which was completely contained, and there was no radioactivity release. Now, 335 reactor years is not a short time. So our safety record has been impeccable.

We did have a tsunami hit India's East coast in 2004 and strike the Kalpakkam nuclear reactor complex which is close to Chennai causing some damage.

Yes the tsunami hit our Kalpakkam complex then and unfortunately 25 of our colleagues living in the colony nearby there died. But when it came up to the reactor complex, the reactor immediately shut down safely without any problems. And within three days we were back to full operation. Since then we have taken further safety precautions including constructing a structure that would act as a barrier or tsunami wall to prevent any chance of flooding. Apart from that there are also mini wave breakers. All these would ensure that the tsunami waves will be dissipated even before it reaches the complex.

In 2001, there was a major earthquake in Bhuj measuring 6.9 in the Richter scale which was close to the Kakrapar reactor in Gujarat. What was the impact?

It didn't have any impact. The reactor continued working without any difficulty.

What are the chances of an earthquake that struck Fukushima happening in India and can our reactors with stand it?

First of all, we live in a region that has a tectonically active area in the Himalayas. Very large scale earthquakes measuring 9 on the Richter scale as in Japan can happen. So the site selection process for our nuclear reactors takes a couple of years and is only done after a very thorough analysis of the geotectonic investigation to make sure these are located in areas that are not prone to major earthquakes. Also, we have recorded history that shows the number and magnitude of the earthquakes and what is their return probability. But those are only statistical figures and I do not trust those numbers. All our reactors are designed to withstand any seismic activity while they are being built. The maximum seismic activity in the zone has been taken into account and the plant has been designed to take the dynamic load that comes onto it when an earthquake happens and withstand the pressure. A Fukushima kind of incident happening here is almost impossible.

After Fukushima, have you undertaken a safety review of the 20 reactors that India has and what are the results?

In Fukushima, the problem was that while the nuclear reactors shut down after the quake and the tsunami, there was the residual decay heat from the nuclear fuel rods that needed to be evacuated. But the plant experienced a total power black-out with even the back-up generators failing. There was no energy available to pump in water to cool the rods. It was the hydrogen produced as a result of excessive heat that caused the explosions that blew the containment roofs apart. After Fukushima, we undertook a thorough review of our nuclear plants. One was done by the Nuclear Power Corporation, the other by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and the third by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) so that we could get expert opinion from different institutions and then implement the recommendations.

How did these institutions go about evaluating our existing reactors for safety?

Each reactor was grouped into classes based on their technology. For the two boiling water reactors, as they are known, we formed a separate committee which came out with some specific recommendations. Some of these have already been implemented and others are waiting for the approval of the AERB. The remaining 18 reactors are pressurised heavy water reactors which also depending on the particular sort of vintage, we have grouped into three and have got committees to make specific recommendation for each of them. Those that could be implemented without any consultation have been done and the others we are waiting for clearance from the AERB.

What were the major things that were done or are being done regarding safety?

The focus was particularly on redundancy in power supply and augmenting water supply for cooling. In most reactors there is already a four-tier power supply as back up. But we have now also introduced mobile generator sets which can be brought to play immediately. We have taken or taking steps to have a larger inventory of water to take out the heat if needed.

There is concern that there is no real independent nuclear safety regulatory authority with the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) currently reporting to the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). What has been done to address it?

The Union government has already announced that there will be an independent nuclear regulatory authority. I am not saying that the AERB is not independent; it is independent. But the AERB is created by an executive order. Now it is important that it should get a statutory status. That it is formed by an Act of Parliament. The Prime Minister has announced that a new Act would be introduced in the forthcoming monsoon session to facilitate this. It is an important step because apart from the legal status it will be broadening its activity and can receive technical support from different organisations. We are working on the draft to ensure that it will be totally independent and will not report to the AEC but some institution outside its ambit. Its activities will be transparent. We have nothing to hide. Let it be out in the open.

There is growing protest about locating the giant 1,650 MW nuclear reactor being built by a French consortium in Jaitapur in Maharastra. Many are saying that it is an untested reactor. What have you done to assuage the concerns being raised?

There are few real scientific issues being raised. One is of it being an untested reactor. Today there is no European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) of the 1650 MW capacity running anywhere in the world. The answer to that is that this is a revolutionary design based on reactors running earlier with very good performance. There is one in France, one in Finland and two in China that are being constructed. Also countries like the UK are seriously considering purchasing EPR reactors. There are many more new safety features that went into its designing and it has qualified as a safe and efficient reactor which is expected to have a very high plant load factor.

But there are worries about the site itself saying that Jaitapur is next to the sea coast and it is both vulnerable to tsunamis and earthquakes?

Jaitapur is a really favourable site because though it is on the sea coast, it is 20 meters higher than the sea level. It is a kind of plateau. The seismicity in the area is put at level 3 compared to Fukushima which is in a level 5 zone. The chance of a tsunami striking the Western coast of India is rather low. The last time it happened was in 1946 and came from a fault near Karachi which is almost 900 kms away. It was rather feeble. We have had independent expert committees go into the safety and other aspects. Their reports are being examined and if there are any changes we would have it implemented after the AERB clears it. We will also make their report public.

After the Fukushima incident, there is a perception that it is the beginning of the end of nuclear power in the world. Germany even announced that it was going to phase out all its reactors. What's the rationale for India not only continuing its programme but expanding it?

Yes the sentiment that Fukushima spells the beginning of the end to nuclear power is being expressed. But the important issue is: Where is India going to get the energy it requires from? In Western Europe and America they average ½ to 1 per cent growth in their economy and so there is not much growth in energy requirement of these countries. Their population has stabilised. Also let me say that Germany had said they would phase out their nuclear plants almost 40 years ago but haven't done it so far. They can also import power from Eastern Europe which has plenty of nuclear plants. UK is seriously expanding their nuclear power capacity after North Sea oil production has dipped. Even Saudi Arabia is planning to set up nuclear plants. We don't have too many options. Against the Indian per capita consumption of 600 kilowatt hour (kWh), the world average is 2500 kWh including Africa. Many OECD countries have 8000-9000 kWh and the US is even higher.

So what does that mean for India?

Today 40 per cent of our homes don't have access to electricity and the quality of access is sketchy. It is a serious issue. Who will provide the energy? In terms of power production Indian will have to exploit all forms of energy to sustain the 8 to 10 per cent economic growth. By 2050 our coal reserves will almost be exhausted. Also, while now we contribute 5 per cent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, if we rely on coal that would grow to almost 40 to 50 per cent of the world's CO2 emission. We will need to reduce our emissions. Apart from that the huge bill for importing coal to meet our needs could cripple our economy. Solar fuel is okay for distributed energy needs for villages and agriculture but cannot support a metropolitan grid requirement or for manufacturing industry. Let's not forget that manufacturing industry is shifting in a big way to China and India. If we want economic growth, we can't escape energy growth. We have absolutely no other option.

What about cost of nuclear power? Isn't it higher?

There is no doubt that the nuclear capital cost per MW is currently higher than thermal or hydro-electric power. But the fuel cost for nuclear is low, the life of the plant is longer and taking into account all these things, the costs would come down considerably. If we take environmental and emission issues, that are also very important, into consideration, in terms of nuclear power plants, it has tremendous advantages. Another factor is rapid urbanisation. People are moving from rural areas to urban areas because there is no employment in rural areas. There is a power shortage of 15 per cent. So, power is being bought by some for Rs 10 and Rs 12 a unit. While nuclear power is between Rs 2.50 per unit, somewhat the same when compared to thermal.

But will nuclear power assure India self-sufficiency in energy?

Currently we have 20 reactors generating 5,000 MW which is around three per cent of our total. I am not saying that we are jumping 100 per cent onto nuclear power. We are going in stages. By 2020 we plan to generate 20,000 MW of power from nuclear reactors and by 2032 around 60,000 MW. Even then it will meet only 10 to 15 per cent of our total power needs. If we miss that opportunity, we will not be able to catch up. We will be a perennially energy importing country and if we do not improve upon it, the country will be lacking in self-sufficiency. But if we move down the nuclear power path and exploit our thorium reserves then in the latter half of the century nuclear power could provide the energy security we are looking for.

We are in the process of importing a vast number of reactors from Russia, France and the US. With our indigenous uranium resources only able to support 10,000 MW of power how are we going to meet the additional requirements?

Uranium is such a commodity that unless you have an assurance for supply you cannot build the nuclear reactors. So one of the key factors during negotiations with Russia, France and USA is that they are in a position to assure us fuel supply of uranium for the reactors that we buy. Meanwhile we are indigenously developing our fast breeder reactors that would generate more fuel than it consumes which would enable us to finally exploit our huge thorium reserves and give us self sufficiency in nuclear power. That is our overall plan.

So far, how has the US nuclear deal helped in terms of India's power programme?

So far what it has done is that it has enabled us to import some uranium. Now you may ask while we say that our technology is good why then do we need to import reactors from other countries? The answer is that if you want to have the kind of growth in energy supply needed, you cannot do that purely on the basis of indigenous capability because the Indian industry capacity is not there. There is a misconception that it is a deal with only the USA. It is not so. It's more an opening up of the nuclear commerce for India. Before the deal there was a total embargo. There was no technology, no material, no exchanges right from 1974. (After India's first nuclear explosion). Sometimes these countries used to say that you cannot get even a paper clip from us. We have suffered for 35 years in complete isolation. Now that isolation is broken by the nuclear pact without sacrificing our strategic programme. This was a major achievement of the nuclear deal.

Does the deal also allow us to import enrichment and reprocessing technology from these countries?

Strictly speaking there is a catch in that. In some of the bilateral documents, it is said that yes, we can get technology in all areas. But then there are some discussions and disputes going on in some countries about this. We are not very keen on cent per cent technology from the outside. Our own technology is there. But as it has been mentioned in some bilateral documents that we are enjoying a full-fledged technology partnership in all areas then why should we not be allowed to have it? But otherwise in terms of both for reprocessing and enrichment technology, India has its own and we can depend on our own.

 

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The Hindu : News : Kudankulam reactor designers among those killed in Russia aircrash


Russian designers of the Kudankulam nuclear reactors died in an aircrash in northern Russia that killed 44 people. Eight people survived the crash.

The Tu-134 airliner on a flight from Moscow crash landed in thick fog on a highway less than a km short of the runway at its destination, Petrozavodsk, in Russia’s Republic of Karelia, minutes before midnight on Monday. The aircraft veered from the highway towards a nearby forest breaking into several parts and bursting into flames.

The plane was carrying 52 people, nine of whom were crew members. The eight survivors included a nine-year-old boy, his teenage sister and their mother.

Three top officials of Russia’s main nuclear reactor design company, Gidropress, were killed in the aircrash along with two other senior nuclear engineers. Gidropress CEO and Designer General Sergei Ryzhov, Deputy CEO and Chief Designer Gennady Banyuk and Chief Designer Nikolai Trunov were all involved in designing two VVER-1000 (Version V-412) nuclear reactors for the the first stage of the Kudankulam power project in Tamilnadu. Another four reactors of this type are to be built at Kudankulam under second and third stages of the plant’s expansion.

Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said that pilot error was the likely cause of the Tu-134 crash, which reminded him of the catastrophe of Polish President Lech Kaczynski’s plane, Tu-154, near the Russian city of Smolensk in April 2010, in which 96 people died. The Polish aircraft also crashed short of the runway as it tried to land in bad weather. Investigation blamed the crash on pilots who rejected ground control advice to divert to another airport. A traffic controller at the Petrozavodsk airport, Sergei Shmatkov, also said the pilot of the Tu-134 turned down his suggestion to circle again.

The Tu-134's black boxes have been recovered and were in good shape, officials said.

 

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Haryana offers NPCIL two sites for setting up n-power plant - PTI -

Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL) has offered two sites to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) for setting up a second nuclear power plant in the state, even as the process of setting up the first plant is underway.

A team of NPCIL and HPGCL officers will visit these sites -- in Balsamand area of Hisar district and the Kitlana-Nimiriwali-Ajitpur area of Bhiwani district -- on June 23 and June 24 to assess their suitability for setting up the second plant, a spokesman of HPGCL said here today.

Quoting NPCIL Mumbai Executive Director Nalinish Nagaich, the spokesman said that during the visit, the NPCIL team wishes to collect certain details regarding the availability of water, cropping patterns, power evacuation arrangements and the distance from the nearest railway head in order to proceed further.

The spokesman said during December, 2010, HPGCL carried out a preliminary survey of these sites and found them to be suitable for being recommended to NPCIL.

He also informed that the land owners of Balsamand village, through their panchayat, submitted a memorandum to the Haryana Chief Minister in April, 2011, expressing their willingness to sell around 18,000 acres of land for the purpose of setting up a power project so as to ensure the development of the village and surrounding areas.

Giving further details, he said NPCIL is already in the process of acquiring land for setting up the first nuclear power plant in Haryana at Gorakhpur, in Fatehabad district.

"During August, 2010, NPCIL had expressed willingness to set up another nuclear plant in Haryana in view of the proactive response of the state in execution of preliminary activities relating to the Gorakhpur project.

"Considering the deficit power scenario in the state in the years to come, the Haryana government in March, 2011, had approved the proposal for setting up a second nuclear power plant in the state," he said.

He also said that during April, 2011, a team of senior officers of NPCIL Mumbai had visited Panchkula to launch an awareness drive to highlight the benefits and safety aspects of nuclear power plants in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear incident in Japan.

 

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India, Russia Sign MoU to Establish GCNEP in Haryana

India, Russia Sign MoU to Establish GCNEP in Haryana

Written by Dinesh Singh Rawat

Vienna (ABC Live): India and Russia on Tuesday signed a MoU for cooperation in the activities to be pursued at the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP) is being set up by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in Haryana.

The DAE signed the MOU with M/s Rosatom of Russia at Vienna on the sidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Ministerial meeting on Safety which began on Monday, a DAE release said on Tuesday.

The GCNEP will consist of four schools on advanced nuclear energy systems studies, nuclear security studies, radiological safety studies and studies on applications of radioisotopes and radiation technologies, the release said.

The MoU was signed by Dr Srikumar Banerjee, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India and S V Kirienko, DG, Rosatom, Russia

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee's office was bugged and whoever did it was well-versed with electronic surveillance, a former ministry official was quoted as saying by Times Now television channel.


Read more about India, Russia Sign MoU to Establish GCNEP in Haryana by abclive.in

 

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Rolls-Royce Strengthens Commitment to Civil Nuclear Business in India

UK Press Release Distribution Service - Vadvert UK

Priya Lopes on 06 22, 2011

Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, has appointed Atul Tandon as Executive Vice-President, Civil Nuclear-India as a significant step towards positioning itself as a strong player in the evolving Indian civil nuclear industry.

In his new role, Atul will focus on developing customer relationships and growing Rolls-Royce presence in the Indian nuclear power market. Atul has extensive experience in the nuclear industry and the energy sectors, including working with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited for 16 years.

Lawrie Haynes, Rolls-Royce President-Nuclear, said: “Rolls-Royce has a long and proud history partnering with India over more than 75 years. As India continues to rapidly develop we have technology and systems which can offer effective solutions. We are today reinforcing our commitment to this important market with the appointment of Atul Tandon, a seasoned industry professional, who will bring a wealth of civil nuclear knowledge and leadership to our expanding local team.”

Anil Shrikhande President, Rolls-Royce India said: “The civil nuclear industry represents an important market and Rolls-Royce is keen to support the country’s ambitious nuclear energy development programme. Atul’s appointment reinforces our commitment towards that strategic intent.”

Rolls-Royce delivers wide-ranging capabilities across the nuclear cycle from concept design to through-life and life-extension. Its nuclear expertise spans high value engineering and manufacturing, licensing, project and supply chain management. Rolls-Royce is a world-leader in digital safety instrumentation and control for nuclear power plants.

Rolls-Royce, a world-leading provider of power systems and services for use on land, at sea and in the air, has established a strong position in global markets – civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy.
As a result of this strategy, Rolls-Royce today has a broad customer base comprising more than 600 airlines, 4,000 corporate and utility aircraft and helicopter operators, 160 armed forces, more than 2,000 marine customers, including 70 navies, and energy customers in nearly 120 countries, with an installed base of 54,000 gas turbines.
Annual underlying revenues were £10.8 billion in 2010, of which more than half came from the provision of services. The firm and announced order book stood at £59.2 billion at 31 December 2010, providing visibility of future levels of activity.
Rolls-Royce employs over 39,000 skilled people in offices, manufacturing and service facilities in over 50 countries. Over 11,000 of these employees are engineers.
Rolls-Royce has a long and proud history of partnership with India – more than 75 years with the Indian Air Force and in India’s civil aerospace sector. Today, there are over 1,300 Rolls-Royce engines in service in India. The company’s global market sectors – civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy – are all represented in the country.
India is an extremely significant country for Rolls-Royce, both as a market, and as a country that is playing a growing role in the Group’s global operations. From licensed production to engineering services and component manufacture the business has expanded in the last decade supported by mutually beneficial partnerships with leading companies in India including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), L&T, TCS and QuEST.
Rolls-Royce has a large and highly experienced nuclear skills base with approximately 2,600 employees in the UK, France, US and Canada.
Rolls-Royce provides nuclear power utility vendors and operators with integrated, long-term solutions and support services spanning the whole reactor lifecycle, from concept design through to obsolescence management and plant life extension. With nuclear expertise including component manufacturing, licensing, project and supply chain management as well as world-class engineering, the company has been a key player in the industry for over 50 years.
In April 2010, Rolls-Royce and Larsen & Toubro Limited, India’s leading engineering and construction company, signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation to effectively address the projected need for light water reactors (LWR) in India and internationally. LWR technology is in more than sixty per cent of civil nuclear power plants operating worldwide.
Atul Tandon is a senior executive with 16 years’ experience in the nuclear industry working for the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and has also held a number of senior roles with major corporations including Wärtsilä India Ltd. He holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology in Raipur, India and an Executive MBA from SP Jain Institute of Management Research in Mumbai, India.

 

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Mongolia offers big scope for mining, Indian President Patil says
Mongolia offers big scope for mining, Indian President Patil says | Asian Tribune
Sun, 2011-07-31 00:25 — editor

News

From R. Vasudevan—Reporting from New Delhi
New Delhi, 31 July (Asiantribune.com):

President Pratibha Patil has asked Indian industry houses to exploit the vast opportunities in the mining sector in Mongolia, saying that the gold, copper and uranium reserves here hold much in store for them.

"The mining boom that Mongolia is presently experiencing is predicted to make Mongolia's economy the fastest growing in the world by 2013. The World Bank's annual GDP growth rate projection for Mongolia in 2013 is 22.9 per cent," Ms il said.

"Such predictions, indeed, are staggering and Indian business must take due notice. Mongolia's mineral wealth, including significant reserves of coal, copper, gold and uranium, offer investment opportunities for Indian companies," she said in Mongolia capital Ulaanbaatar.

"Implementation of these projects will generate significant demand for construction and mining equipment, as well as in such areas as power generation, water supply and rail transport. I would recommend the Indian business delegation to look closely at these opportunities," the visiting President said.

The President, who was on a three-day visit of Mongolia, inked several bilateral agreements, including ones on defence cooperation and media exchange. Ms Patil is the first Indian President to visit Mongolia in 23 years.

"We are impressed and applaud Mongolia's decision to put forth for development three major flagship mining projects, namely the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold deposit, the Tavan Tolgoi coking coal deposit and the uranium deposit at Dornod.

"These projects are becoming important drivers of foreign direct investment into Mongolia and will serve the purpose of meeting the growing demands of the world economy in general and major Asian economies such as India in particular," she said at a business interaction organised by industrial bodies of both the nations and attended by several entrepreneurs.

"The Indian business delegation present here should, along with Mongolian industry, explore business opportunities and seek to establish contacts with commercial and industrial houses. I encourage greater and more frequent exchange of ideas and interaction between chambers and business leaders of the two countries," she said. Ms Patil is accompanied by a 30-member strong Indian business delegation.

Speaking immediately before her, Mongolian Minister for Education, Culture and Science Yo. Otgonbayar, who is also the head of the Mongolia-India Joint Committee, said his government would “try to create a favourable climate for these [Indian] companies.” He pointed out that Jindal Steel was doing exploration work in the great Gobi desert for uranium after the India-Mongolia pact on civil nuclear energy a year ago.

Ravi Boothalingam of Manas Advisory, who is leading the Indian business delegation, said that while the two countries “cannot change geography,” difficult logistics presented a big problem for trade and commerce – “creative solutions would have to be found” and this would be in the interest of both the countries.