First meeting of the India-U.S. Contact Group on Civil Nuclear Cooperation

[haviZsultan]

Yeah exactly. Go sign a deal with India while bitching about the nuclear programs of Iran and Pakistan. US is the worst thing to ever happen to any people. India realizes this and is keen not to develop close ties with the US even though our so called American allies are keen to snuggle beside India.

 

[Hindustani78]

Department of Atomic Energy
12-August, 2015 17:14 IST
Compensation for Nuclear Victim

Section 6(1) of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act prescribes that the maximum amount of liability in respect of each nuclear incident shall be the rupee equivalent of three hundred million Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). Considering the value of 1 SDR as about Rs.87, three hundred million SDRs are equivalent to about Rs.2610 crore. Section 6(2) of the Act lays down that the operator’s maximum liability shall be Rs.1500 crore. In case the total liability exceeds 1500 crore, as per Section 7 (1) (a) of the CLND Act, this gap of Rs.1110 crore will be bridged by the Central Government. Beyond Rs. 2610 crore, India will be able to access international funds under the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC) once it is a party to that Convention.

For damages exceeding the operators liability of Rs.1500 crore, and in accordance with section 7 (2) of the CLND Act, the government has initiated steps to establish a “Nuclear Liability Fund” by charging such amount of levy from the operators, in such manner, as may be prescribed.

This information was given by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in reply to unstarred question in Lok Sabha today.

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Department of Atomic Energy
12-August, 2015 17:13 IST
Training for Atomic Officials

A structured training programme for training the plant personnel on various plant procedures including Emergency Operating Procedures (EOP) for handling off-normal conditions is in place. The emergency procedures include contingencies arising out of floods, tsunamis, cyclonic storms, earthquakes and fire. Tsunamis and cyclonic storms are relevant to coastal sites and training covers these aspects for the personnel at coastal sites. The relevant training programmes on EOPs for off-normal conditions are being regularly conducted in batches for the plant personnel at all the nuclear power plants. Regular retraining on these topics is also imparted to the operations personnel, as a part of the licensing process. During the last three years and the current year so far, 692 training programmes have been conducted at nuclear power stations in the country.

This information was given by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in reply to unstarred question in Lok Sabha today.

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[Hindustani78]

'Indian govt, firms need to set pace of N-deal implementation' | Zee News

Washington: Nearly nine months after the "breakthrough understanding" on India-US civil nuclear deal was achieved, a top Indian-American official has said that now it is up to Indian government entities and private companies to set the pace for the historic agreement's implementation.


"What remains is the commercial negotiations on what is the business proposition that companies can move forward on. And that is going to move forward on its own pace," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal said.

Noting that discussions are proceeding between US firms and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and other relevant entities, Biswal said the US is encouraged that they are continuing to pursue those negotiations and discussions.

"It is going to follow the pace that the business/ commercial side pursues and it is going to be for the business and companies to manage the pace of that," she said in response to a question.

"Would we like to see its conclusion and its implementation? Of course, we would. But we understand that this is a very complex undertaking, both for the government of India and for the companies to move forward," Biswal said.

According to Biswal, the breakthrough understanding, that were achieved during President Barack Obama's unprecedented Republic Day visit this year, removed policy constraints in trying to address critical pieces such as ensuring India was committed to and consistent with international conventions on liability and the international convention on supplementary compensation.

"India's affirmation that its clause were consistent and its commitment that it would seek to ratify the CSC was a very important issue on addressing the concerns on liability."

The understandings that were achieved with respect to tracking of fissile material were very important in addressing those concerns," she said.

Biswal said ratification of the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC) would be a very important signal.

"The insurance pool are angling forward and that has been a very important aspect, but now it is really going to be about pulling together the commercial deal that can move," she said.

"That is going to be through private negotiations in which the US government has no role," Biswal said.

PTI

 

[Hindustani78]

No need to hold foreign suppliers responsible for N-accident: AEC | Zee News

New Delhi: With India's nuclear insurance pool formation in its final stages, the only issue stemming from the civil nuclear liability law requiring resolution is the right of recourse against vendors in case of accident, the AEC chairman has said.

Foreign nuclear plant suppliers were reluctant to sell their plants to India, citing provisions of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLND) 2010 that provides the right of recourse to the operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) against suppliers.

"Indian reactors are erected under complete Indian supervision. There is no need to hold foreign suppliers responsible," said Shekhar Basu, the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), here on Tuesday at an event organised by the India Energy Forum.

"Part fabricators or suppliers of a nuclear plant cannot be held responsible for the entire job in the event of an accident," he said.

Informing the gathering that the Rs 1,500 crore ($234 million) India Nuclear Insurance Pool will be in place shortly, Basu said the vexed issue of right to recourse against suppliers could be resolved contractually.

"We could put it in writing in the suppliers' contract that they have no such responsibility in case of an accident," Basu, who recently took charge of the AEC, told reporters later on the sidelines of the event.

"We have to make the contract condition in such a way that the right to recourse should not apply to an accident involving the entire nuclear plant," he added.

Reinsurer GIC Re, four government-owned general insurers and also some private general insurers have provided the capacity to insure the risks to the tune of around Rs.1,000 crore and the balance Rs.500 crore capacity has been obtained from the British Nuclear Insurance Pool.

All the 21 operating nuclear power plants in India owned and operated by NPCIL are expected to come under public liability insurance cover.

The insurance cover would also extend to the 1,000 MW nuclear power plant at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu built with Russian equipment.

IANS

 

[Hindustani78]

Small suppliers of nuclear energy sector won't have obligation in case of liability: Secy | Zee News


New Delhi: In a major relief to component suppliers in the nuclear energy sector, government on Tuesday said they will not have any "obligation" if there is any liability.

However, the major suppliers, for instance companies building the reactors, will not be absolved if there is such an eventuality.

India is also looking at approaching foreign market as the

Domestic banks are not equipped to give the massive amount of loan required to build an atomic reactor.

"Suppliers (who) are involved whether it is Indian or theirs (foreign)...Then we will mention it in the contract that they will have no obligation (in case of any liability) as ultimately it is we who are designing, fabricating, constructing, commissioning," Sekhar Basu, Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, said today.

He was speaking at the 7th Nuclear Energy Conclave here organised by the India Energy Forum.

"Indian reactors are designed, fabricated, quality assured, erection, commissioning under our supervision. So, there is no point in calling somebody else a supplier. Because whatever he has supplied and whatever he has made is as per our requirement. So we are responsible for that and this has to come in the document by which we will doing the purchase or get the item fabricated," he said.

Basu, who is also the Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, however, added that companies building the reactor will not be absolved under this.

"On the foreign front, suppliers have to take the insurance of Rs 1,500 crore. I am told for five years it is not much and it is around Rs 50-70 crores. Its a small fraction in comparison to the cost of the reactors and if you are taking multiple reactors, the cost remains the same," he added.

The decision comes as a major relief to small suppliers, mostly Indian companies, which had been complaining about the stringent provisions of the Civil Liability Nuclear Damage(CLND) Act 2010, which held suppliers responsible in case of any accident.

This was also a major hurdle and concerns were raised by domestic suppliers.

Basu said the DAE is also looking for cheaper loan option outside.

"Loan component is a bigger problem because whatever amount we are looking for, particularly from the banks, they will not be able to provide us all this amount and Indian lenders will not be able to cover this. We are looking for big loan from the foreign markets. This is possible more for the foreign reactors. Russians are already giving us loan at the interest of 4 percent and still cheaper loans are available in the market," he said.

 

[Hindustani78]

India drastically lowers nuclear energy target
Kalyan Ray, New Delhi, Nov 4, 2015, DHNS:

With little progress on ground since the 2008 Indo-US nuclear agreement, the government has drastically cut the nuclear energy target from 63,000 Mwe by 2032 to just about 14,500 Mwe by 2024.

Till August, the government informed Parliament that its nuclear energy target remains at 63,000 Mwe by 2032. The same figure was also mentioned in India's intended nationally determined contribution (INDC) document released last month.

“There is an internal revision in the target in July 2014 when it was decided to triple the current installed capacity in the next 10 years. This comes down to approximately 14,500 Mwe by 2024,” said Nalinesh Nagaich, Director (human resources), Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL).

Though many government documents quote 63,000 Mwe as the target, officials at the Department of Atomic Energy now claim it was only “an expression of intention” and never a target.

“The 63,000 Mwe target was based on expectation that after the Indo-US agreement, we would be rapidly able to expand our capacity by importing foreign reactors. We hoped that foreign reactors of 40,000 Mwe capacity would come.
That did not happen,” said an official.

While six nuclear power reactors with a total capacity of 4,300 Mwe are under various stages of constructions, more indigenous reactors are set to come up in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Russia, too, has agreed to construct two more 1,000 Mwe reactors at Kudankulam.

But participation from French major Areva (Jaitapur) and US firms Westinghouse (Chhaya Mithi Virdhi, Gujarat) and General Electric (Kovadda, Andhra Pradesh) are nowhere close to reality due to lack of clarity on issues arising from the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.

Though the India Nuclear Insurance Pool came into being in June to take care of the suppliers concerns on liability, the industry is waiting for the government to come out.

“Clarifications on exclusive channelling of the nuclear liability act is required. The Ministry of External Affairs website (where a set of frequently asked question in liability and insurance pool has been put up) is not a legal document. We need a document with legal validity,” said Patrick Ledermann, vice-chairman and managing director of Alstom India.

Achieving even the scaled-down target would take more than usual time unless the government removes several bureaucratic hurdles and addresses the suppliers’ concerns, said many top industry leaders.

The new Atomic Energy Commission chairman Sekhar Basu, however, assured the industry that insurance issues have almost been sorted out.

Suppliers who would design and manufacture equipment following the NPCIL specification and supervision would not be held responsible for liability in the contract, he added.

 

[Hindustani78]

NEW DELHI: February 08, 2017 14:32 IST
Updated: February 08, 2017 14:32 IST
http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...-nuclear-plants-for-India/article17245799.ece

There is uncertainty surrounding the construction of US nuclear reactors in India after Toshiba Corp decided to move out of the reactor building business. Officials said they are expecting some clarity in a month after Toshiba’s board meeting.

“We have not had anything on it officially. But what we read is that there will be completing the reactors that are under construction in the US and others which are India and UK India they are thinking but have not taken a decision. We expect a decision after their board meeting soon. Our discussion is going on. We don’t have a clear answer to this today, may be in a month,” Dr. Sekhar Basu, Secretary Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) said on Tuesday.

Following the Indo-US nuclear deal, India has been in discussion with Toshiba’s US based Westinghouse since 2005 to build six AP1000 nuclear reactors. After protracted negotiations and concerns on the nuclear liability there were hopes that a deal would be concluded soon.

Last week it was reported that Toshiba was planning to withdraw from building nuclear plants in the UK and India. Toshiba had acquired the US based Westinghouse, which specialises in nuclear reactors, in 2006.

Other officials said that the technical discussions were going on as usual and the last one was held end of January. Their offer on the six proposed reactors was very good, they stated and expressed confidence that the deal would continue.

“Normally such big companies don’t shut down. We are hearing that someone will bankroll them either the Japanese government or the Japanese Development Bank,” one official observed.

Underscoring the importance of the nuclear deal, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US, the two sides in the joint statement welcomed the start of “preparatory work on site in India for six AP 1000 reactors to be built by Westinghouse” which once completed the statement had noted would “fulfil the promise of the India-US civil nuclear agreement.”

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd and Westinghouse had also agreed to “work toward finalising the contractual arrangements by June 2017.”

 

[Hindustani78]

http://zeenews.india.com/india/indo-us-civil-n-deal-deadline-will-be-missed-1996938.html

Kolkata: The June 2017 deadline for operationalising the Indo-US civil nuclear cooperation will "certainly" be missed, former National Security Adviser MK Narayanan said here on Monday.

At the same time, Narayanan expressed optimism about things falling into place, especially with India boosting its uranium supply.

"The deadline will certainly be missed by every stretch of the imagination," Narayanan told IANS here when quizzed on the recent speculations about the deadline.

Expanding on the major issues that led to the delay, the former West Bengal governor said: "Two big issues were the insurance package, so to say, and there were a lot of discussions that had to be conducted and in the midst of that happened Fukushima (Japan nuclear disaster) which aggravated concerns about what will be the impact of a major nuclear disaster."

"So I think that took a good amount of time (more or less from 2010 to 2013 to 2014) that is one basic issue with deadlines being missed."

Narayanan had played a significant role in the negotiation of the landmark Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement which was announced in 2008.

A joint US-India statement said India and the US Export-Import Bank were "working to complete a financing package for the project, and that the Nuclear Power Corporation of India and Toshiba Corp`s Westinghouse Electric had confirmed engineering and site design work would begin immediately."

However, the implementation of the pact has been held up further with Westinghouse Electric running into financial troubles.

"Then of course you run into the problem that the company Westinghouse has run into major problems so as a result, what I would say, at one level (not due to non-performance from our side), more due to other factors, administrative (and other factors across the world) we have had to delay the thing. Hopefully, things will come around," Narayanan said.

The former Intelligence Bureau chief also highlighted that India has shored up its uranium supplies.

"One of the major drawbacks that would have happened... would have been if we didn`t get enough uranium. That is one of our major short supply but that is being assured now... Australia and Canada have agreed to supply us uranium so I think our supplies are assured."

However, he said, "You have to get over some of the administrative and related matters so it will be delayed (nobody can say for how long) but I am optimistic. It is quite an extraordinary deal."

He was speaking on the sidelines of an international energy conference organised by The Neotia University.


First Published: Monday, April 17, 2017 - 15:20

 

[Hindustani78]

Department of Atomic Energy
20-July, 2017 15:54 IST
Progress in INDO-US Nuclear Deal

The fruition of International cooperation in nuclear energy or Indo – US nuclear deal as has been commonly known, has resulted in enabling import of fuel for reactors placed under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards and paved the way for setting up of large capacity Light Water Reactors (LWRs) with foreign technical cooperation. In this regard, the Government has accorded ‘in principle’ approval of five coastal sites and designated them for locating such reactors in cooperation with the Russian Federation, France & the USA. Two projects, KKNPP 3&4 (2X1000 MW) and KKNPP 5&6 (2X1000 MW), to be set up in technical cooperation with Russian Federation at Kudankulam, Tamil Nadu have been accorded financial sanction. Construction of KKNPP 3&4 has commenced. Discussions with technology partners from France and USA have commenced to arrive at viable project proposals.

At present there are nine reactors under construction and another twelve have been accorded administrative approval and financial sanction by the government, work on which is being taken up progressively.

The Government has recently accorded financial sanction for ten indigenous 700 MW reactors and two reactors to be set up in technical cooperation with Russian Federation [KKNPP 5&6 (2X1000 MW)].

The approved completion cost of KKNPP 1 to 6 is Rs. 106740 crore for the total capacity of 6 x 1000 MW.

This information was provided by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

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Department of Atomic Energy
20-July, 2017 15:54 IST
Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership

Project for setting up of the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP) in India was sanctioned during September, 2010 with a proposal for construction in phases. The construction activities of Phase-I buildings have been completed and the construction activities for the next phase is being taken up. The facility is operational in the buildings completed in Phase-I. Setting up of the facility is being done indigenously by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

This information was provided by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

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[Hindustani78]

Department of Atomic Energy
28-March, 2018 18:04 IST
Status of Nuclear Cooperation Agreement Between India and USA

During discussions between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and M/s Westinghouse Electric Company (WEC) for setting up six units of AP-1000 (6 x 1208 MWe) reactors at Kovvada, Andhra Pradesh, M/s WEC has expressed willingness to continue with the proposed project in India. Further progress in these discussions will depend upon finalization of techno-commercial aspects of the project acceptable to the Indian side and upon establishing the viability of the project. In this regard, a Techno-Commercial Offer has been submitted by M/s WEC to NPCIL, on which negotiations have been initiated. Further progress in the negotiation will also depend on the operation of reference plant of the above design in U.S.

This information was provided by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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[Hindustani78]

Department of Atomic Energy
04-April, 2018 13:53 IST
Use of nuclear energy

Applications of nuclear energy and radiation have played a significant role in the field of electricity production, agriculture, medicine and health. Contributions of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) have made a positive impact on improvement in the treatment of disease and the quality of life of citizens in the country.

Electricity Generation:-

The total electricity generation from the Nuclear Power Plants during the last three years was 115292 Million Units.

Agriculture:-

Using radiation induced mutagenesis technology, DAE has developed 42 varieties in oilseeds (groundnut, mustard, soybean and sunflower), pulses (urdbean, mungbean, Pigeonpea, cowpea), rice and jute, which have been released and notified for commercial cultivation across the country.

Government of India (Department of Atomic Energy) has set up two radiation technology demonstration units, one commissioned in the year 2000 for high dose irradiation at Vashi, Navi Mumbai, and another in 2002, for low dose irradiation, i.e. Krushi Utpadan Sanrakshan Kendra (KRUSHAK) facility at Lasalgaon near Nashik. The facilities are being operated by the Board of Radiation & Isotope Technology (BRIT). Two plants are also set up one each by Maharashtra government and Gujarat government. Currently, 15 irradiation plants including those in Private Sector are functional in the country carrying out radiation processing of agricultural/food products. Presently fruits like Mango and Pomegranate and vegetable like onions and garlic are being irradiated for shelf life extension.

Medicine and Health:-

BRIT under DAE India is responsible for production and supply of Medical products linked to human health. The radioisotopes produced in nuclear reactors/ cyclotron is employed for medical applications. The nature of radiation emitted from the radioisotope determines its utility for diagnostic or therapeutic application. Under this category diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals are manufactured.

Some of the Radiopharmaceuticals manufactured and supplied are:-

1. 99mTc-Technetium based radiopharmaceuticals: For diagnosing diseases related to all the important organs of the body comprising cerebral, myocardial, renal, liver, lung, etc. and for cancer detection.

1. 18F-Fluorine based diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals: PET based products for diagnosis of cancer, cardiac and neuro diseases.

1. 131I-Iodine based products for diagnosis and therapy of thyroid and related cancers.
2. 32P-Phosphorus, 153Sm-Samarium and 177Lu-Lutetium based Therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals for relieving the cancer borne pain and cancer therapy.

Other than the above radiopharmaceuticals BRIT supplies 60Co (Cobalt) source for Bhabhatron Teletherapy unit used as radiation source for treatment of cancer. Also 125I based in vitro Radioimmunoassay kits for diagnosing the low concentrations of hormones, proteins, etc. present in blood are supplied.

1. The nuclear share of electricity generation in the year 2016 in the country was about 3.4% and is comparable to China (3.6%) and Japan (2.2%).

In so far as medicine and health Sectors are concerned, around 220 Nuclear medicine centres are currently operational in India which employ above radioactive products for medical applications. However no such data is available for countries like China and Japan for direct comparison.

(c) In so far as electricity generation through nuclear technology is concerned, the government has taken several enabling steps to increase the nuclear power capacity and to provide adequate quantity of fuel. These include:

1. Resolution of issues related to Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act & Creation of Indian Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP).
2. Accord of administrative approval and financial sanction of - ten (10) indigenous 700 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) to be set up in fleet mode & two (02) units of Light Water Reactors (LWRs) to be set up in cooperation with Russian Federation.
3. Amendment of the Atomic Energy Act to enable Joint Ventures of Public Sector Companies to set up nuclear power projects.
4. Entering into enabling agreements with foreign countries for nuclear power cooperation including supply of fuel.

In so far as Agriculture sector is concerned, Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI) grants subsidy to gamma radiation processing plants under SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters) which are installed for gamma radiation processing of food products.

In so far as Health & Medicine sectors are concerned, the Government provides all impetus to the use of nuclear energy in health care by promoting Nuclear Medicine practices in the country. This is with respect to indigenous development of import substitutes and also providing cost-effective treatment. The medical cyclotron of Radiation Medicine Centre provides the PET imaging facility to patients at no cost. Use of a Lutetium-177-labeled product (DOTA-TATE) for treatment of cancer patients having neuroendocrine cancer is 10-15 times less than the imported radiopharmaceutical (₹ 10,000 vs. ₹1,50,000).

This information was provided by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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