India « nuclear-news

Indian political party objecting to weakening of Nuclear Liability Law

BJP objects to govt rules on nuclear commerce Times of India TNN | Nov 25, 2011, NEW DELHI: BJP plans to object to the rules of nuclear commerce announced by the government recently on the ground that limits on compensation and a cut-off for claims violated the basic provisions of the civil liability for nuclear damage act.

The rules have to be tabled in Parliament and BJP will argue that the right to recourse offered to operators of nuclear power plants under section 17 was being wrongfully circumscribed by the rules in order to provide relief to US suppliers.

The rules state that there will be a period of limitation in terms of the initial liability and a cap will be imposed on the compensation that can be sought. …….

November 25, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics | Leave a comment

Earthquake risk to India’s planned huge Jaitapur nuclear plant

Jaitapur nuclear plant site not immune to earthquake: Experts Economic Times, 23 Nov 11 BANGALORE: Two leading geologists have warned that a magnitude 6-plus earthquake cannot be ruled out in Jaitapur – the proposed site of India’s largest 9,900 MW nuclear power plant on the west coast that has seen protests against it for safety reasons – and that it could occur within the lifetime of the power plant. Continue reading →

November 24, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, safety | Leave a comment

Nuclear Suppliers discriminated in favour of India, in order to sell USA nuclear reactors

India is now in the privileged position of being the only known country with nuclear weapons which is not a party to the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty but is permitted to carry on nuclear commerce with the rest of the world. The discrimination is in India’s favour, not against it..

Nuclear policy and process dumped at the drop of a hat, The Drum, Paul Barratt, 21 Nov 11 “………India is not a party to the NPT, has never been, has developed a nuclear weapons capability as a non-member of the Treaty, and accordingly, is in an entirely different position from China vis a vis Australian uranium export policy.

As part of a deal to enable India to gain access to US and other nuclear technologies, President Manmohan Singh and then President George W. Bush issued a joint statement in July 2005 to the effect that India would separate its civil and military nuclear activities and place all its civil facilities under IAEA safeguards, in return for which the United States would work toward full civil nuclear cooperation with India. An IAEA Safeguards agreement was signed in 2008, and India was granted an exemption by the Nuclear Suppliers Group, an export control group that had been established mainly inresponse to India’s first nuclear test in 1974. Continue reading →

November 23, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics international | Leave a comment

India should make Nuclear Suppliers Group fully liable for accident costs

Jeremy Leggett urges India to claim full nuclear liability from suppliersTimes of India Laxmi Ajai Prasanna, TNN | Nov 20, 2011, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: “India should make the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group face the full liability costs in case of an eventuality,” says Jeremy Leggett, an international climate campaigner and Greenpeace UK’s chief scientist and author of ‘Half Gone oil, gas, hot air and the global energy crisis’.

Taking his stance on the ‘Civil Nuclear Liability Act’ introduced in the Indian Parliament, he says, “Voicing for total liability cap will deter the investment bankers to face up the huge economic responsibility. That way India could safeguard its interest for clean and green energy and avert the recurrence of a Fukushima-type disaster.” In an interview to TOI here on Saturday, Leggett’s message for India in the context of exploring and utilising alternative energy sources was to ‘Catch up and shine fast’.

When told that the Indian government has toned down the right to recourse in the legality of the ‘Civil Liability Act’ conceding to the pressures of the nuclear lobby, Leggett says, “I am 57 now and realised that things don’t happen as expected, nuclear energy though not a safe option, is given the nod by the policy makers and decision makers of the government supported by fragile leaders…….

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/Jeremy-Leggett-urges-India-to-claim-full-nuclear-liability-from-suppliers/articleshow/10797698.cms

November 21, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, India | Leave a comment

Time to stop India’s media disinformation and spin on USA-India nuclear deal

Stop this spin on nuclear liability law! Rediff, 18 Nov 11 Maybe, Justice Markandey Katju, chairman of the Press Council of India has a point – India needs a media regulatory framework. Katju pointed out how ill-equipped are our journalists intellectually and otherwise to handle complex issues. Take, for instance, the new rules that have been formulated by the government on the nuclear liability law.

The spin doctors of the government are already at work to convey the impression that the new rules in no way erode the provisions of the nuclear liability law. To be sure, in the coming days, we will have to depend heavily on the western media to comprehend what is happening.

Read the Bloomberg report. It says the government is wooing the GE and Westinghouse by framing rules that meet these firms’ demands. Areva of France has welcomed the rules already!

Again, read the WSJ report from Delhi. It says this is a move to “allay the concerns” of the American companies.

Hopefully, a regulatory framework will protect the Indian media from the government spin also. It needs gumption to cliam that on the eve of PM Manmohan Singh’s pow-vow with US President Barack Obama in Bali, the government flexed its muscles and told off the Americans! Who do they think they are – these nameless, faceless bureaucrats – to dish out such crass disinformation, assuming that Indian journalists (and we Indians who read them) are a bunch of morons?

http://blogs.rediff.com/mkbhadrakumar/2011/11/17/stop-this-spin-on-nuclear-liability-law/

November 19, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, media | Leave a comment

India’s anti nuclear activists are still patriotic Indians

Anti-nuclear stand is not anti-national: activist, Manorama Online, November 17, 2011 Chennai: “Being anti-nuclear power does not mean one is anti-national,” an anti-Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) activist said Thursday referring to police cases slapped on protesters and the allegations of foreign backing for the stir.

“Police have been registering cases against those who are participating in the anti-nuclear power plant agitation, including the church priests. We request the cases to be withdrawn by the state government,” M. Pushparayan, convener of the Coastal People’s Federation, and a member of the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) that is spearheading the anti-KNPP movement said. Continue reading →

November 19, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

Outside safeguards, India pursues plutonium production, enriched uranium, nuclear missiles

This power play fails to charm, The Age, M.V. Ramana, November 18, 2011“……… in the past few years, the Indian government has continued with its production of plutonium for weapons purposes at the 100-megawatt Dhruva reactor. It has also kept many of its power reactors outside of International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards, and even by 2014, when it is supposed to put a total of 14 heavy-water reactors under safeguards, eight reactors will be available for potentially military purposes.

Also outside IAEA safeguards is the prototype fast breeder reactor that is under construction and that could produce about 140 kilograms of high-quality, weapon-grade plutonium, sufficient for nearly 30 Nagasaki-type bombs, every year. In 2010, the International Panel on Fissile Materials estimated India had stockpiled 300 to 700 kilograms of weapon-grade plutonium and 3300 to 3900 kilograms of reactor-grade plutonium.

India is also expanding its capacity to enrich uranium, reportedly for use in a nuclear submarine reactor. Recent Google Earth images suggest that new centrifuge halls, roughly twice the size of the existing facility, are being built.

Last year the chief of the navy said India would soon have an operational triad of aircraft, land-based missiles and (nuclear-powered) submarine-launched missiles for delivery of nuclear warheads.

Pakistan and China are expected to react to this by further developing their own arsenals and military strategies….http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/this-power-play-fails-to-charm-20111117-1nl17.html#ixzz1e7A9KnGx

November 19, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, Uranium, weapons and war | Leave a comment

How USA can financially rip off India – cutting through the ‘spin’

The hard reality is that the government has watered down the nuclear liability law to accommodate the US business interests….

The watering down has been done in close consultation with Washington and the latter’s rhetoric in the most recent weeks shows that it is simply thrilled with what the mandarins in the PMO have been doing behind closed doors.

It is no small matter that India is generating such a fantastic volume of nuclear business for the US companies – it could be anywhere up to 100 billion dollars.

This is on top of the arms purchases.

India delivers, it’s Obama’s turn now, Rediff.com, 18 Nov 11 Timing is three-fourths in international diplomacy. The spectacular display of 3 happy coincidences on the eve of PM Manmohan Singh’s pow-vow with US President Barack Obama in Bali is near-perfect in timing:

* India successfully test-firing Agni-IV missile that has a reach over large areas of the Chinese hinterland;

* Australia’s change of heart about selling uranium to India and,

* Delhi announcing the rules for the implementation of India’s nuclear liability law. …..

The enormous US penetration of the Indian media and think tanks in the recent decades all but ensures that the opinion-making can be calibrated. Continue reading →

November 19, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

India tows America’s line, making Nuclear Liability Law ineffective

India caved in to foreign pressure on nuclear liability’ Times of India, IANS | Nov 17, 2011, NEW DELHI: India caved in to foreign pressure by diluting the right to seek recourse from foreign suppliers as per the rules notified under the Civil Nuclear Liability Act, said Greenpeace on Thursday.

“Following protests by opposition parties and the civil society, the right to recourse for the operator to seek compensation from foreign suppliers was included in the draft last year and approved by the parliament. This clause has now been reduced to being insignificant,” said a statement issued by the environment issues NGO. Reacting to the notification of the rules, Greenpeace nuclear and energy campaigner, Karuna Raina said: “The notified rule considerably changes it from what was approved last year amid protest from the opposition, both inside and outside the parliament.”

“The government has undone the efforts put in by thousands of individuals and organisations that fought for a stringent Liability Act. The lessons learnt from Bhopal tragedy have clearly not made any difference to the government. For them foreign interest is paramount and much above wellbeing of its peoples,” she said. India had Wednesday notified the implementation rules for the civil nuclear liability law… http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/developmental-issues/-India-caved-in-to-foreign-pressure-on-nuclear-liability/articleshow/10773027.cms

November 19, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics international | Leave a comment

India’s Bhopal survivors angry at weakening of Nuclear Liability Law

India angers Bhopal survivors over nuclear decision India has agreed to limit the liability of foreign nuclear power plant suppliers despite protests from campaigners who said its government had ignored the lessons of the Bhopal gas disaster, By Dean Nelson, New Delhi 18 Nov 2011

The liability rules set by the Indian government are aimed at speeding up foreign investment in new nuclear power stations ..

Ministers had been under pressure to insist on strong liability rules to ensure those affected by any future nuclear accident would be properly compensated and the companies responsible take full responsibility.

Campaigners warned of “another Bhopal”, after the tragedy at the Union Carbide chemical plant where a poisonous gas leak killed several thousand people and injured several hundred thousand. They say full compensation was not paid while contamination of the water supply continues to cause birth defects and disabilities.

Under the Rules of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Act, published on Thursday, nuclear suppliers can cut deals to restrict the duration of warranties, after which they would not be liable for accidents. “The lessons learnt from the Bhopal tragedy have clearly not made any difference to the government. For them foreign interest is paramount and much above well being of its people,” said Karuna Raina of Greenpeace

November 19, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

Indian government bows to USA wishes on Nuclear Liability Law

Ahead of PM-Obama meeting, India notifies nuclear liability rules

‎http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/ahead-of-pm-obama-meeting-india-notifies-nuclear-liability-rules-150519

Govt notifies Rules: N-supplier liability to be ‘limited in time’, Indian Express, 17 Nov 11The foreign suppliers of nuclear material to Indian nuclear power plants would not be held liable for accidents caused by defective or faulty equipment supplied by them if the accident takes place after a guarantee period specified by them.

According to the Rules of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Act, which was made public today, suppliers of nuclear material would be allowed to specify a ‘product liability period’ beyond which they would not be held liable for any accident.

The operator of the nuclear power plant concerned would therefore have no ‘right of recourse’ against the suppliers after this period is over. Continue reading →

November 17, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

Opposition to uranium mining in India

Minister opposes uranium mining
Deccan Herald, Bangalore, Nov 16, DHNS:
Yadgir district in-charge minister Raju Gouda on Wednesday said he would appeal to Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda to cancel the permission granted to the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) to take up uranium mining in Gogi village of Yadgir district.

Addressing the media, Gouda said he would take a delegation to meet the chief minister on Thursday, and submit a memo- randum urging the government to drop the project as it would pose serious health hazards to the people of the region. The minister said the project was not only hazardous to human beings but would also adversely impact the environment and the wildlife, and fertile land in the radius of over 100 km in and around the project would turn barren. The government has agreed to allot about 102 hectares of land to UCIL for taking up mining activities in Gogi, where rich deposits of Uranium have been found. UCIL had already dug up a 273-metre deep tunnel. The effluents generated are being discharged into a nearby water body, which was a water source for the people. Both humans and cattle have been taking ill after consuming this water, he said. .. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/205245/minister-opposes-uranium-mining.html

November 17, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, opposition to nuclear, Uranium | Leave a comment

Renewable energy to power India’s top tourist destination

Renewable energy to power Palace, Times of India Pavan M V , TNN | Nov 16, 2011 MYSORE: If the official machinery has its way, renewable sources of energy will power the special illumination of the Mysore Palace, which has emerged as the top grosser among tourists in India. Thanks to the ambitious solar city programme sponsored by the Union ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE), the 1 lakh bulbs could draw power by harnessing solar energy.

The project aims to reduce consumption of fossil fuel and electricity in the urban areas and switch to alternate sources of energy. The estimated project cost for the implementation of renewable energy project in Mysore under the project is put at Rs 1,620 crore. The project cost was disclosed during SCP meeting at the MCC on Tuesday….

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mysore/Renewable-energy-to-power-Palace/articleshow/10754836.cms

November 17, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, renewable | Leave a comment

Long range nuclear missile test fired by India

India fires its longest-range missile, capable of going deep into China, China Post, 16 Nov 11, BHUBANESHWAR, India–India on Tuesday successfully test fired one of its longest-range missiles capable of carrying a one-ton nuclear warhead deep inside China, officials said….. the nuclear-capable, two-stage missile which is powered by solid fuel was fired beyond the Bay of Bengal into the Indian Ocean. Agni means fire in Sanskrit.

“Agni-IV has a maximum range of 3,500 kilometers (2,170 miles) but this time the launch parameter was 3,000 kilometers,” the official spokesman said….. Defense ministry sources said military scientists were also giving the final shape to the 5,000-km range Agni-V, scheduled to be test-fired for the first time early next year.

India has also said it may develop an intercontinental ballistic missile….. India is among the world’s top 10 military spenders. It plans to splurge US$50 billion by 2015 to upgrade its military. It has fought three wars with rival Pakistan since their independence in 1947 and a brief but bloody border conflict with China in 1962. http://www.chinapost.com.tw/asia/india/2011/11/16/323102/India-fires.htm

November 16, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, weapons and war | Leave a comment

India: High Court upholds rights of anti nuclear activists

Don’t restrain anti-nuclear activists: HC Times of India, Rosy Sequeira, TNN | Nov 15, 2011, MUMBAI: In a victory for anti-Jaitapur nuclear plant activists who claimed their fundamental rights to speech and movement were being trampled upon, the Bombay high court directed the state government not to restrain them from entering Ratnagiri district. Continue reading →