Amid growing global concern over safety of Pakistan's nuclear arsenals, India today said battlefield atomic weapons of that country were at the heart of such apprehensions.
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.
With intelligence inputs suggesting that terrorists were planning to attack India's nuclear installations, Army chief General Deepak Kapoor on Wednesday said Indian weapons were 'fully secure' and that there was no doubt about their safety. "As far as Indian nuclear weapons are concerned, I can assure you that whatever weapons we have, they are fully secure and there is no doubt about their safety," he told reporters.
It was meant to be the start of a triumphant march to the Tokyo 2020 Games: the torch relay would begin on Thursday in Fukushima, battered by the 2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster, as a poignant symbol of the "Recovery Olympics." But instead, it was like any other day for this prefecture in northeast Japan after the relay was scrapped following the Games' postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Centre's announcement of setting up of an expert group to allay fears over Koodankulam nuclear plant has not been received favourably by anti-nuclear activists who have resumed their protests against the project.
Leading South Asia analysts in the United States have slammed President Obama for his stout defense of Islamabad as committed to non-proliferation and a safe steward of its nuclear weapons arsenal, and described his comparing the safety and security of US and Pakistan nuclear weapons is "unhelpful and disingenuous".
In an email to the ITF on Monday, AITA chief Hironmoy Chatterjee said India had full confidence the ITF and Pakistan Tennis Federation would organise an "excellent" Asia/Oceania Group 1 tie but said more security checks might be in order.
The United States and the world community are aware that Pakistan's nuclear installations are well secured, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told the media. Pakistanis are a progressive and moderate nation and there is no question of nuclear installations or materials falling into the hands of militants, he said.
India's ambassador to the United States, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who was visiting The NYT editorial board, rejected Khan's criticism.
In the wake of Japan's nuclear plants being at risk due to the earthquake and tsunami that struck the country, Maharashtra government on Friday said it would go ahead with the controversial Jaitapur nuclear power plant with additional safety measures if necessary.
Japan has decided to raise the severity level of the crisis at its tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to the maximum seven on an international scale from the current status of five.
'It is very significant that the president and the prime minister discussed Pakistan's efforts to take action against Lashkar-e-Tayiba and its affiliates.' 'This is something new and it demonstrates a recognition of Pakistan of the threats these terrorist groups pose to Pakistan and pose to other countries.'
The government is expected to defer the mega initial public offering (IPO) of LIC to the next financial year as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has dampened fund managers' interest in the public issue, market experts said on Sunday. The government was looking to sell 5 per cent stake in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) this month, which could have fetched over Rs 60,000 crore to the exchequer. The IPO would have helped meet the curtailed divestment target of Rs 78,000 crore this fiscal.
Taking cognisance of the threat of nuclear terrorism, 47 countries, including India, have vowed to prevent non-state actors from obtaining information or atomic technology and effectively cooperate globally to advance security in the field.
The first 1,000 MW unit of the much-delayed Kudankulam nuclear power project could be commissioned in the next few days and every step is being taken to ensure safety, a senior official said.
Reviving their protests against the commissioning of Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant, activists of People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy on Monday said they would go ahead with their indefinite fast from Tuesday.
Air Chief Marshal said his force is ready for a full spectrum operation but added that any decision on surgical strike involving the IAF has to be taken by the government.
Pakistan has pressed its demand for an atomic deal similar to the one granted to India by the US, saying the security of its strategic assets and growing energy needs qualify it for "civil nuclear cooperation at the international level".
In the letter, they have demanded the halting of the construction of the plant claiming that it violated the International Atomic Energy Agency safety guidelines as 'the nuclear plant is in a tsunami and earthquake prone region, which has also experienced small volcanic eruptions and is affected by water shortages".
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.
The United States is worried over the safety of Pakistan's nuclear assets and believes that they are 'vulnerable', as the army continues to consider India as a prime threat.
United States president-elect Donald Trump's tweet for strengthening and expansion of country's nuclear arsenal is indicating a major policy change as against the Obama Administration which had pushed for reduction and ultimately elimination of nuclear weapons.
Dravida Munetra Kazhagam treasurer M K Stalin on Monday urged Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to withdraw cases filed against agitators, including fishermen, in Kudankulam in accordance with a Supreme Court ruling.
Shaun Gregory, a professor at Britain's Bradford University and an expert on Pakistan's nuclear weapons, said though severely bruised in its own back yard, the Pakistan Army is the only determining factor that stands between the nuclear weapons and terrorist organizations such as the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
US-India defence cooperation must not adversely affect the India-Russia interface, which has its own strategic meaning and content, asserts Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
Pakistan on Sunday junked as "rubbish" a report that elite US troops were ready to counter any move to hijack the country's nuclear arsenal and said it was "a figment of the imagination".
The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant will attain criticality by mid-night on Saturday, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman S K Sinha announced in Tirunelveli.
In a statement a couple of days ago, the business chamber said, 'The Indo-US civilian nuclear initiative will bring India into the international nuclear non-proliferation mainstream and enhance the safety of India's civil program. The initiative will also help to revitalize the US nuclear industry and create thousands of high-tech American jobs.'
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has expressed confidence about concluding a civil nuclear deal with India within weeks, asserting that prejudices of the past would not be allowed to come in the way. "We were anxious to conclude the agreement. But there is still some amount of work to be done," Harper, who held talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday, told television channel NDTV.
Former president A P J Abdul Kalam has submitted a 39-page report to the Central government and the government of Tamil Nadu that recommends ten steps for ensuring the safety and development of the Koodankulam nuclear plant and its surrounding areas.
The current system of the Indian Railways is on the brink of collapse. The Indian railways working model is not financially viable either. The railways coffer have gone, almost, bankrupt, that is the outcome of the intense review undertaken by the committee consisting of galaxy of experts that was given task to review the Indian railways safety.
Modi said Kudankulum 1, an Indo-Russian project, was an important addition to the continuing efforts to scale up production of clean energy in India.
Organisers warn participants against eating out over COVID-19 risks.
"After 20 years of war in Afghanistan, I refused to send another generation of America's sons and daughters to fight a war that should have ended long ago," US President Joe Biden.
As protests rage in Kudankulam and reach a crescendo, V Ponraj, scientific advisor to Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, speaks about the report he and the former Indian President prepared in this interview with rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.
In an exclusive conversation with rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar, KNPP director K Balajee says his team worked 15 hours a day to get the plant ready, and now they are sitting idle thanks to the escalating protests.
In an exclusive conversation with rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar, KNPP director K Balajee says his team worked 15 hours a day to get the plant ready, and now they are sitting idle thanks to the escalating protests.
Noted anti-nuclear activist and convener of People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy S P Udayakumar has quit Aam Aadmi Party, saying he was doing so as he felt it was not paying attention to people of south Tamil Nadu.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will on Friday meet an all-party delegation from Tamil Nadu to discuss the state administrations' concerns over the Kudankulam nuclear project. He will meet the delegation at his residence in 7 Race Course Road in Delhi to dispel apprehensions about the safety of the nuclear project. The delegation will be headed by Tamil Nadu Finance Minister O Paneerselvam, who will present a memorandum to the prime minister.
Amid demands for scrapping the Koodankulam nuclear power project, a top atomic scientist on Saturday vouched for its safety, saying all types of exigencies including a Fukushima-type mishap have been factored in.
