In a major boost to the quest for deposits of uranium ore in the country, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has come across another site with a large deposit of the mineral in Rajasthan.

The deposit found at Rohil in Rajasthan’s Sikar district is estimated at 5,185 tonnes, which makes it the fourth largest in the country after Tummalapalle, Chitrial and Peddagattu extension in Andhra Pradesh.

A parliamentary panel has come down heavily on the Union Government for imposing limitations on liability amount as well as the duration of the liability period under the proposed rules under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act.

Noting that the limitations imposed under Rule 24 of theCLND were not contemplated under the Act, the panel pointed out rules must be consistent with the substantial provisions of legislation.

New Delhi: In case of a nuclear accident in India at present, the maximum fine that can be imposed by the regulator on an offending nuclear plant is Rs 500.

Protest initiation of projects without consultation with locals

A people’s hearing on nuclear energy held in the Capital on Wednesday criticised the Government’s nuclear energy policy and demanded that repression of people’s movements struggling against nuclear energy projects be stopped with immediate effect. Residents belonging to Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu, Jaitapur in Maharashtra, Fatehabad in Haryana, Haripur in West Bengal, Chutka in Madhya Pradesh, and Rawatbhata and Banswara in Rajasthan joined activists associated with the struggle in these parts in condemning the Indian Government and political parties of initiating projects without consulting the local populace or taking their consent.

Wants Chief Minister to take the initiative

The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), which is demanding the scrapping of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) and organising protests at Idinthakarai, has urged Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to initiate a fresh round of dialogue with the protesters. In an appeal to Ms. Jayalalithaa through the media, the PMANE blamed the Department of Atomic Energy for not sharing the site evaluation report and the safety analysis report on the KKNPP with the protesters and not listening to their “genuine concerns” over solid and liquid waste management.

New Delhi: Global nuclear watchdog IAEA will conduct an in-depth operational safety review of two atomic power plants at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan, the first such exercise in India in the aftermath o

If the government decides to bring Kudankulam’s third and fourth units under the purview of the nuclear liability law, which makes suppliers liable for compensation in case of accidents, Russia wil

Activists citing concerns about the fate of local residents in the event of an accident at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant received a boost from an unexpected source with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh questioning the Department of Atomic Energy’s decision to waive its legal right to claim damages against the NPP’s Russian suppliers.

On Thursday, NDTV disclosed that Dr. Singh, who is also the Minister for Atomic Energy, has objected to a request by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. — the operator of the Kudankulam facility — to waive its right to recourse under Section 17 of the Nuclear Liability Act if an accident in the yet-to-be-built units 3 and 4 results from faulty equipment.

Notwithstanding the fact that India is among few countries of the world being self-reliant in developing indigenous fast-breeder and uranium based reactors in the world for the generation of nuclea

Adequate technology and experience are available with the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) for transporting spent fuel from one location to another by rail and road in a safe manner without any public hazard. This was stated in a note when a batch of petitions relating to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) came up before a Division Bench of Justices P. Jyothimani and M. Duraisamy for further hearing on Thursday.

The note, filed through NPCIL counsel Krishna Srinivasan, stated that at Kudankulam, spent fuel from the reactors would be stored in the spent fuel pool designed for the storage of spent fuel assembly.