Ind to harness nuclear power; to set up 20 new reactors

Hyderabad, Feb 28: After the massive protests against the Koodankulam Nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu, the Centre seems to be determined to boost nuclear energy in the country. According to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, they plan to set up as many as 20 nuclear reactors in different states in the country.

The matter was revealed by the Chairman and Managing Director of NPCIL, Dr S.K. Jain, who stated that the sites for the reactors have already been identified and the NPCIL have also selected back-up sites in case there are any hurdles in the identified locations. He added that the reactors would be ready during the 12th Five-Year Plan period.

Dr Jain commented that among the places that the new plants will come up also include Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh. He made these comments during the inaugural session of the International conference on Characterisation and Quality Control of Nuclear Fuels on Monday. He added that Indian scientists have been successfully using combined fuels such as uranium-thorium and plutonium and thorium in nuclear reactors.

India is all set to emerge as a world leader in thorium and inter-metal technology, stated Dr Jain. According to reports by experts, the nuclear energy production in the country has now touched 32,000 million units. He added, "We have also brought plutonium carbide to commercial level. A nuclear power plant will be ready, based on this technology. We will recycle nuclear waste to get maximum energy utilisation.”

Deputy Director-General of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Alexander Bychkov also speaking at the event said that India is one of the key nuclear countries and appreciated the country's efforts in producing thorium fuel for nuclear reactors.

Dispelling all fears of an accident, Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, Dr Sreekumar Banerjee said India’s nuclear power plants were safe and there was no cause for any concern.

OneIndia News