Russia on Tuesday said there is no point in keeping its scientists at protest-hit Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant site in Tamil Nadu after its commissioning remained stalled for months.
The much-delayed Kudankulam nuclear power project is expected to be commissioned by the end of this month, the government on Wednesday told the Lok Sabha.
As engineers race to commission the nuclear power plant at Kudankulam, the government has given its nod to build two more such units of 1,000 MW at the site in Tirunelveli district of power-starved Tamil Nadu.
Russia on Thursday said the protests against the Kudankulam nuclear power plant were 'sponsored' and the Non-Governmental Organisations from outside were 'feeding' the organisations which are spearheading the stir.
Jaishankar said he was confident that Prime Minister Modi and President Putin will meet for an annual summit next year.
Facing heat from the party's top brass, Communist Party of India - Marxist stalwart in Kerala V S Achuthanandan on Thursday publicly admitted that he had committed "organisational mistakes" on issues related to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant and the murder of an expelled party leader. Achuthanandan's admission comes two days after the CPI-M central committee censured him for defying the official line on these issues.
Demanding that the Centre immediately scrap the Kudankulam Nuclear power project, social activist Swami Agnivesh on Thursday sought a high-level enquiry and public hearing to 'expose' corruption in the energy sector.
The regional passport office in Madurai has issued a notice to S P Udayakumar, convenor of a movement spearheading the stir against Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, asking him to surrender his passport within 15 days. The letter from the Madurai (south) region passport office asked him to surrender his passport within that period as 98 criminal cases are pending against him. If he fails to do so within that period, the document would be impounded.
A German national was deported from Tamil Nadu in the wee hours on Tuesday after he was picked up by police in Nagercoil for his alleged "active involvement" in the protests against the Kudankulam nuclear power plant project.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left Moscow for home on Saturday after concluding a three-day visit during which he attended the 12th annual Indo-Russian summit and witnessed the inking of five agreements, including one for technical assistance in joint production of 42 more frontline Sukhoi-MKI 30 jets. Dr Singh, who held talks with President Dmitry Medvedev, cleared the uncertainty over the Kudankulam nuclear power project on Friday.
A fresh petition was filed on Friday in the Supreme Court against the environmental clearance given to the controversial Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu.
For his pains, he has over 350 criminal cases filed against him that include charges of sedition and waging a war against the nation. At the moment, he has an unbailable warrant out in his name.
Anti-corruption activist and member of disbanded Team Anna, Arvind Kejriwal, said his team fully backed the agitation against Kudankulam Nuclear Power plant.
India will acquire a few more reactors from Russia in the near future and sites to erect these are currently being selected.
India's first 1000 MW atomic power plant built with Russian collaboration at Kudankulam is just two steps away from going critical, a top official said on Friday.
'Decisions on nuclear power have so far been taken by a small select group, primarily interested in profiteering from their actions, stating 'secrecy' as necessary from the national security point.' 'This argument is false, because we are dealing with the 'civilian' nuclear power sector, which is open even to the IAEA,' says Dr A Gopalakrishnan, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
The first unit of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, which attained criticality on July 3 will reach its maximum capacity of 1000 MWe by November end, according to S Sundar, project site director.
India's nuclear establishment is continuing its march of folly at the expense of safety in the false belief that atomic power is the energy of the future. It's not. Nuclear power is in relentless global decline, says Praful Bidwai.
The government on Monday said there will be no compromise on nuclear safety or livelihood of any section of society in India's pursuit of atomic power, a statement that comes against the backdrop of anti-nuclear protests in Kudankulam and Jaitapur.
The first pour of concrete for units three and four was scheduled for December 2007 but failure to sign the agreement for the additional reactors during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Moscow last month put a huge question mark over NPCIL's expectation of touching a generating capacity of 20,000 MWe by 2020. Kudamkulam is critical to its calculations.
"Public safety is of prime importance. There are poor people living in the vicinity of the plant and they should know that there life would be protected," a bench of justices KS Radhakrishanan and Deepak Misra said while posting the matter for hearing on September 20
About 10 lakh cases filed in connection with violation of lockdown norms to prevent spread of COVID-19, and cases over protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act early last year would be withdrawn, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced in Tenkasi on Friday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left for China on Tuesday on the second leg of his two-nation tour after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow during which the two leaders pledged to "resolve all outstanding issues" related to the Kudankulam nuclear project.
Several nuclear power projects held up for the lack of such an insurance pool can now be expected to move forward.
Russia also welcomed the separation plan of military and civilian nuclear programmes and India's compliance with non-proliferation norms.
While nuclear engineers cheer KNPP's first full operation, on nine other sites which house atomic reactors, scientists spend sleepless nights.
India plans to produce about 20,000 mega watt of nuclear power keeping safety features in mind, former President A P J Abdul Kalam on Friday said as he certified the Kudankulam atomic plant as safe.
This would make India the world's second-biggest nuclear energy market after China
The nation will have nine nuclear reactors by 2024 and a new nuclear project, the first in northern India, will come up 150 kms away from Delhi in Gorakhpur of Haryana, the government informed the Rajya Sabha.
In first high-level engagement between India and Russia after National Democratic Alliance government came to power, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry O Rogozin on Wednesday held extensive talks on crucial bilateral issues including trade and energy security.
Russia is keen to strengthen economic ties with India.
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.
"During the second quarter of this year we expect to deliver fuel to the first reactor at the Kudankulam," head of the Russian Automic Energy Agency Sergei Kiriyenko told reporters as he visited the construction site of the plant.
Taking a leaf from 'Jal Satyagraha' activists in Madhya Pradesh, the activists of People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy stood in the waters close to the shores in a new turn to their year-long protests.
Russia has completed delivery of nuclear fuel for India's Kudankulam Atomic Power Plant, which is in its final stages of construction in Tamil Nadu. According to Russian nuclear energy industry Atomenergoprom's website, the nuclear fuel rods consisting of not more than 4.1 per cent uranium-235 have been delivered strictly under the IAEA guidelines and contractual obligations. The fuels will suffice for the physical launch of one reactor.
Left parties on Wednesday warned the government that it would commit an "illegal act" if it tried to dilute the Civil Nuclear Liability Act or signed any agreement for supply of nuclear reactors during the upcoming United States visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Prime Minister Modi was hosted by Russian President Putin for a private tete-a-tete at Kremlin during which the two leaders touched upon issues of mutual national interests.
Mahatma Gandhi said that an eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind. A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com travelled to Idinthakarai, the epicentre of protests against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, where two factions of people chose to settle scores by hurling country bombs at each other.
India will complete the process of putting its 14 civilian nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards by the year end as part of a commitment made under the Indo-US nuclear deal.
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