Nuke deal is 'additionality' for energy prog: Kakodkar

Hyderabad, Jun 7 (UNI) Atomic Energy Chairman (AEC) Anil Kakodkar today said the country was making efforts to sustain itself in nuclear energy production by taking up new projects and establishing Uranium mining and milling centres.

The nuke deal with the United States would help India only to acquire technology and fuel material with 'additionality' to the country's nuclear power programme, he told newspersons while participating on the sidelines of Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) Day celebrations here.

''Whatever we get from the nuclear deal was considered as an 'addition.' We are on the road to increase Uranium production programme domestically. The availability of resources and its prices are main issues. Keeping the size of resources in mind, we need to get them from outside also,'' he said.

Observing that the economy was progressing at a faster pace and the same speed should be continued in energy production as the gap between energy requirement and availability was bound to increase, he said adding, ''India will require additional energy sources to meet its demand.'' Stating that the country would require 10 times more electricity by the middle of this century, Mr Kakodkar said the US civilian nuclear deal would be one of the solutions to the energy crisis that the country was currently facing.

UNI AP VA SV PM1655