Nuclear energy can help India to generate 470,000 MW power by 2050, says PM

New Delhi, Sep 29 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today asserted that India can generate 470,000 MW of power by 2050 if the country manage three stages of the nuclear programme".

Addressing a international conference on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, Dr Singh said, "If we can manage our programme well, our three stage strategy could yield potentially 470,000 MW of power by the year 2050. This will sharply reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and will be a major contribution to global efforts to combat climate change."

Dr. Singh also said that as a nuclear weapon state and a responsible member of the international community, India would participate constructively in the negotiations of an Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty or FMCT in the Conference on Disarmament.

"India is proud of its non-proliferation record and is committed to global efforts for preventing the proliferation of all weapons of mass destruction. We are committed to a voluntary, unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing," he added.

He further said that the peaceful uses of nuclear energy security as just about power. There are promising applications in the areas of agriculture, food production and preservation, medicine and water desalination.

"In India, we have successfully developed 37 mutant varieties of seeds for commercial cultivation using nuclear techniques. Use of radiation technology for food preservation is growing. We have built a nuclear desalination plant at Kalpakkam and are working on the use of isotope hydrology techniques for rejuvenation of springs, which is an important source of drinking water," he added.

Dr Singh said that global non-proliferation, to be successful, should be universal, comprehensive and non-discriminatory and linked to the goal of complete nuclear disarmament. We believe that there is growing international acceptance for this viewpoint.

"We feel encouraged by some recent positive signs. US President Barack Obama indicated in a significant speech at Prague in April this year the willingness of the United States to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in its national security strategy and work towards a vision of a world free of nuclear weapons," he said.

"The United States and Russia are also negotiating further cuts in their nuclear arsenals. States with substantial nuclear arsenals should take meaningful steps on nuclear disarmament," he added. (ANI)