Plans to build India's biggest indigenous nuclear power plant have failed to impress villagers in Haryana's Fatehabad district, who fear a Fukushima-type disaster. The shoddy way in which the government agencies have handled the issue has not helped matters either. Gopal Krishna reports.
The volcano is located about 50 kilometres from the Sendai nuclear plant that began operations last year after it was shut down along with other nuclear plants in Japan following the 2011 earthquake and Fukushima nuclear disaster.
The deal would allow Japan to export nuclear technology to India, making it the first non-NPT signatory to have such a deal with Tokyo. It would also cement the bilateral economic and security ties as the two countries warm up to counter an assertive China.
The slow-moving disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan that is spreading a cloud of anxiety across the world has forced most nations to either suspend or review their nuclear power programmes, but not India.
One of India's closest friends in the United States Congress, Representative Gary Ackerman, New York Democrat, on Tuesday asked Obama administration's point man for South Asia Robert Blake, as to what would happen if after the nuclear disaster in Japan, India may decide to forego the US-India civilian nuclear deal and rely more heavily on Iran for its energy requirements.
'The leak is likely to continue for some time before it becomes stable, but this is something that NPCIL, who is the plant operator, will have to do. For this, we have to plan very carefully.'
We the people are left in the wind, waiting on the whims of an unengaged president and an oligarch with a nearly bottomless wallet, observes Sree Sreenivasan.
Japan on Thursday made desperate efforts to douse overheating spent fuel rods at its quake-crippled reactors in the Fukushima plant, dumping tonnes of water using helicopters and water cannon trucks amid growing concerns of a nuclear disaster.
Tennis star Maria Sharapova and Pune FC's Japanese footballer Izumi Arata lend their support to those affected in Japan in last week's devastating earthquake and tsunami and the nuclear crisis.
'At a time when the entire India-US relationship needs to be defined by President Trump and Prime Minister Modi, a fresh look at the liability issue has become urgent,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, former Governor for India at the IAEA.
'If he were to drop even one nuclear weapon on Europe, it would start a nuclear war that would destroy everybody.'
The National Security Strategy document should flag all major issues concerning security strategy and provide guidelines to concerned departments to work out suitable action plans. Since the global and regional geopolitical canvas is dynamic, the NSS document should be deliberated at length before formulation and should be reviewed periodically, recommends Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
NDRF director general Atul Karwal told PTI that the teams are undertaking continuous familiarisation exercises and conducting simulation drills in the temple town to respond to any contingency.
Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president and a champion of peace and human rights, has died at the age of 100. Carter, who was known for his work with the Carter Center, promoting democracy and conflict resolution, was also a close friend of India. He visited the country in 1978, forging a lasting relationship between the two nations.
Maria Sharapova became a goodwill ambassador for the UN Development Fund and donated $100,000 to the Chernobyl victims.
Planning in India will need to change to take account of a more volatile global economy.
Despite the nuclear crisis in Japan, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Saturday night batted for nuclear power as an essential option of energy and said the present "nervousness" in the world would end when the issue is discussed in a "cool-headed" manner.
India for the first time on Wednesday voted against Russia during a "procedural vote" at the United Nations Security Council on Ukraine, as the 15-member powerful UN body invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address a meeting through a video tele-conference.
In non-conventional sources of energy like solar, Japanese firms can collaborate with Indian counterparts.
From the uprisings across the Arab world to the devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan, there was no lack of news in 2011. In this special series, rediff.com brings to you images that helped define the year.
From the uprisings across the Arab world to the devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan, there was no lack of news in 2011. In this special series, the photographers offer a behind the scenes account of the images that helped define the year. Part-II of the series
'It was India's good fortune to have a Vajpayee lead the government at this crucial moment in history.' 'By taking the N-decision he saved future generations of Indians from being 'Kosovoed' or 'Iraqed',' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Indo-Japanese nuclear deal may not come easy considering India's Civil Nuclear Liability Act provisions which had earlier put off suppliers like General Electric, says Debalina Ghoshal.
"It is time to recognise that nuclear power is not a clean, safe or affordable source of energy," said the letter written by nine laureates including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Adolfo Perez Esquivel and Jose Ramos Horta.
From the uprisings across the Arab world to the devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan, there was no lack of news in 2011. In this five-part series, the photographers offer a behind the scenes account of the images that helped define the year.
The four-month event has been hit by several high-profile runner cancellations as celebrities have pulled out, citing late notice and worries about drawing crowds during the pandemic.
Shigeru Ishiba is expected to prioritise strengthening Japan's military capabilities and fostering deeper international partnerships, particularly with India, with whom Japan shares significant strategic interests, explains Dr Rajaram Panda.
Novarka will build a giant arch-shaped structure out of steel, 190 m (623 feet) wide and 200m long, which will cover the existing containment structure
Amid concerns over the Koodankulam nuclear power project, the National Disaster Management Authority has said safety measures at all atomic plants in the country were in place but admitted earthquakes at these sites cannot be completely ruled out.
'Modi knows the people here are opposed to this project, but he is using the might of government to push this port down our throats.'
It seems in the geopolitics of the 21st century, we can see the subcontinent acting as one geopolitical entity to secure its economic interests. Key to this transformation is a strong India that is pre-eminent but not dominant, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
China will prioritise the development of a floating nuclear power platform in the coming five years.
As hectic efforts were on to contain Japan's worst atomic crisis, police in protective gear on Thursday for the first time launched a search for tsunami victims in a 10-km zone around a radiation-leaking nuclear plant while Premier Naoto Kan vowed to rebuild the nation amid growing opposition calls for him to quit.
Indian-American Republican leader Nikky Haley has endorsed her former boss Donald Trump as the party's candidate for the presidential election, delivering the message of unity after their bitter rivalry during the presidential primary.
The Summit would begin on the second day with the prime minister interacting with Russian and Indian CEOs.
Under a 2010 nuclear liability law, nuclear equipment suppliers are liable for damages from an accident, which companies say is a sharp deviation from international norms
