The Russian cabinet has cleared the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deepen bilateral cooperation with India in civil nuclear energy during President Vladimir Putin's visit to the country.
Owing to unfavourable weather conditions and for want of a barge the stator was not moved to Kudankulam earlier.
A milestone in Russian-Indian nuclear cooperation with the arrival of a reactor pressure vessel for the Kudankulam atomic power plant.
India and Russia are expected to unveil a major nuclear energy partnership during Vladimir Putin's visit, potentially involving Russian small modular reactors and expanded cooperation as India pushes toward its 100-GW nuclear goal by 2047.
The enduring relationship between the two countries have survived the disintegration of the erstwhile USSR in 1991, the end of the Cold War and the regime change in both countries, points out Rup Narayan Das.
Kudankulam will house the largest nuclear power plants in India and the flagship project of Russian-Indian technological and energy cooperation.
Russia has offered India cooperation in localising large and small nuclear power plants as part of a civil nuclear energy collaboration between the two countries. The offer was made during a meeting at the IAEA General Conference in Vienna.
Extending its nuclear power plant supply relationship with India to the non-nuclear sector, Russia's integrated atomic power major Rosatom State Corporation is in talks for a 50:50 additive technology joint venture.
'We were not protesting for a wage hike or provident fund. We were protesting for the safety of the larger population. There is no personal gain.'
'Geopolitically and diplomatically it's a very difficult situation for India.'
'The protection of secrecy and anonymity gets lost with this linking.'
On June 1 2017, the credit protocol to the Intergovernmental Agreement of December 5 2008 and the GFA for Kudankulam NPP Units 5, 6 were signed.
AAERB's permission for RAPP-7 paves the way for the subsequent phases of reactor commissioning leading to its commercial electricity generation.
India on Tuesday said cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear technology is an important pillar of the multifaceted cooperation with Russia, which offered help in building small tropical nuclear power stations.
The India-US nuclear deal was aimed at ending India's nuclear isolation and nuclear apartheid, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
India's nuclear operator has started loading enriched uranium fuel in the first reactor of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project after getting the final clearance from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) on Tuesday.
Women and men would stand in the sea waters for two hours in turns, Pushparayan, leader of the Peoples Movement Against Nuclear Energy, spearheading the year-long agitation, told media persons in Kudankulam.
Principal Scientific Adviser to the Centre R Chidambaram on Friday said that all concerns regarding Kudankulam nuclear power project have been addressed and expressed confidence that plant will start operating soon."
Anti-nuclear activists on Monday announced a 'Kudankulam Chalo' rally on March 15, urging the government to "stop harassing" those protesting construction of the proposed nuclear plant there.
The first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant was synchronised with the southern power grid on Tuesday, marking a major milestone in power generation of the ambitious Indo-Russian nuclear collaboration in Tamil Nadu.
Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar hopped on to a fishing boat at Kudankulam amid the anti-nuclear power protests at sea.
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a plea seeking a stay on the commissioning of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu.
The reactor will start its initial production of 400 MW electricity within 20 days, Union Minister V Narayanasamy said.
Days after India dismissed as 'baseless' reports about radiation leaks at the yet to be commissioned Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu, a Sri Lankan interest group on Saturday alleged that the atomic power station has been leaking radiation since February 27.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has alleged the United States could be behind the protests against the Kudankulam nuclear power project in Tamil Nadu and claimed a lot of money has been pumped into NGOs leading the campaign.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has said there was "some ulterior motive" behind continuance of the protest against the nuclear power plant at Kudankulam despite assurance from the government that it is safe.
Regardless of the wisdom contained in the Supreme Court judgment, we need to go beyond it, commission the plant after making sure, through an international inspection, that it is safe, create a fool-proof disaster management system and make a pledge that India will progressively move towards elimination of nuclear power within a time frame, says T P Sreenivasan
The group of experts from various disciplines such as radiation safety, reactor safety, oncology, fisheries and nuclear waste management will interact with the local population in and around Kudanakulam where two 1000 MW nuclear power plants built with Russian collaboration are in advanced stages of completion.
There has to be an enquiry to find out why a fisherman was shot dead 45 kms from the site of the Kudankulam agitation, and also why has the shooter policeman not been suspended yet. A Ganesh Nadar reports.
There has to be an enquiry to find out why a fisherman was shot dead 45 kms from the site of the Kudankulam agitation, and also why has the shooter policeman not been suspended yet. A Ganesh Nadar reports.
An uneasy calm prevailed in Kudankulam on Tuesday with police tightening vigil as anti-nuclear protesters continued with their relay fast at Idinthakari, epicentre of protests against the Kudankulam Nuclear plant, condemning the action against anti-KNPP activists.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday told a delegation that a high-level committee would address their concerns on safety of the Kudankulam nuclear power project.
Why were bombs being made in a small village near the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, and is the blast in anyway linked to the agitation? A Ganesh Nadar travels to Idinthakarai to find out.
India's nuclear regulator the Atomic Energy Regulator Board is carrying out a thorough review of the first unit of the much-delayed Kudankulam atomic power plant as directed by the Supreme Court last month. "We are reviewing the safety aspects of Unit 1 at Kudankulam as directed by the Supreme Court," an AERB official said
Three persons from Australia were on Thursday prevented from entering Idinthakarai, the epicentre of protests by People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy leading the stir against Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tirunelveli district, the police said.
Launching another phase of their agitation against Kudankulam atomic power project, anti-nuclear protestors on Monday began a day-long 'siege' of the plant by placing fibre boats and floating buoys in the sea.
The controversial Kudankulam Unit I of the atomic power reactor in Tamil Nadu will become operational by next month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said.
The much-delayed Kudankulam nuclear power project is expected to be commissioned by April, government told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Appearing before a bench of justices K S Radhakrishanan and Deepak Misra, Attorney General G E Vahanvati said the Kudankulam plant is absolutely safe beyond all doubts and all the apprehensions are misplaced.
The first two units of the Kudankulam nuclear plant will discharge 6.3 billion litres of waste water every day right onto the beach. This discharge will trigger a slow-motion disaster that will poison beaches, devastate near-shore fisheries and choke the livelihood of fisherfolk in the vicinity, says Nityanand Jayaraman.