Nuclear energy throughout the world is nearing irrelevance, says John Byrne, Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy (CEEP) and distinguished Professor of the University of Delaware, U.S. He has contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 1992 and shares the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with IPCC researchers.

Dr. Byrne, who is on a 12-day tour to India, held a meeting with anti-nuclear power activists and villagers of the area in and around the proposed Jaitapur plant. “It seems the people have a number of unanswered questions

Japan’s nuclear regulators on Monday presented a draft outline of new safety measures to prevent or minimise the consequences of severe accidents like Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The National Fishermen Forum (NFF) on Sunday decided to observe Monday as the National Day of Protest against the commissioning of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project.

A resolution adopted at the general body of the forum said that the commissioning of the project would ruin the livelihood of hundreds of fishermen in southern coastal districts of Tamil Nadu. Several cases had been filed against the fishermen who held peaceful agitations. The Tamil Nadu government should immediately withdraw the cases and arrest warrants against those protesting against the nuclear project.

Manmohan Singh presents lifetime achievement award to four DAE scientists

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday reiterated that while the Centre went ahead with its nuclear energy programme to meet the growing energy needs of the country, it would continue to ensure that nuclear power remained totally safe. “The Fukushima incident in 2011 [has] raised justifiable safety concerns about nuclear power … We will ensure that the safety and livelihoods of people are not jeopardised in our pursuit of nuclear power,” Dr. Singh said.

Stating that the country was on the threshold of a new milestone in its quest for civil nuclear energy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today announced that the first nuclear reactor with Russian collaboration at Kudankulam would start operating soon with the second reactor to follow later in the current year.

''As we pursue our national growth objectives to meet the rising aspirations of our people, the supply of affordable clean energy will be one of our foremost national challenges and a key priority for our government. Nuclear energy will remain an essential and increasingly important element of our energy mix. We are in the process of expanding our indigenous nuclear power programme,'' he said on the occasion of Department of Atomic Energy's Lifetime Achievement Awards for 2011 here.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said nuclear power was an essential component of India's energy mix and he will ensure that the safety and livelihoods of people are not jeopardised in its pursuit.

"We will ensure that the safety and livelihoods of people are not jeopardised in our pursuit of nuclear power," Singh said at a function to confer lifetime achievement awards on four nuclear scientists. Noting that the 2011 Fukushima incident had raised "justifiable" concerns on atomic energy, Singh said, "Even as we implement our power programme, we will continue to ensure that nuclear power remains wholly safe."

Every time people lose faith in the political establishment, urban middle classes embrace fascism and the poor take up arms against the state

The last image of 2012 is that of protesters storming central Delhi, outraged at the brutal rape of a young girl and the culture of violence against women. This outburst by the educated middle class, many of them young women, was spontaneous as much as it was leaderless. But as we move into the next year, we need to think about the government’s response to this protest and other demonstrations. We need to understand if the Indian state has any clue about what is going on under its nose — and feet.

Tehran posits itself as an attractive transit destination

Seeking closer economic ties, Iran posited itself as an attractive transit destination to other countries and a net provider of energy security at a press conference by top official Saeed Jalili, who is being spoken as a presidential candidate to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his completion of two terms in office. India has been deeply interested in using the Iranian territory as transit route into Afghanistan, Central Asia and Europe. But Mr. Jalili’s stress was more on energy security despite stalled talks on Indian equity participation in the Farzad gasfield and a gas pipeline to run through Pakistan.

The much-delayed Kudankulam project is set to be commissioned within the next two weeks as nuclear scientists have entered the final lap of a series of tests on its safety and efficacy.

“Within this month 100 per cent. It will take about two weeks,” Ratan Kumar Sinha, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission told PTI in Kolkata on the sidelines of the 100th Indian Science Congress when asked about the commissioning of the first 1,000 MW unit of the project.

The police on Wednesday foiled protestors’ attempt to reach near the 9,900-Mw Jaitapur nuclear project site in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. Nearly 2,000 activists, who had taken out a protest march against the project, were arrested and shifted to a makeshift jail at one of the schools in the area.

Villagers adjacent to the project site reiterated their demand for the cancellation of the nuclear project citing safety and security risks. On Wednesday’s protest march was supported by the opposition Shiv Sena and Left parties.