India firm on right to nuclear fuel reprocessing

Srikumar Banerjee, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), said here on Saturday that the country was firm on securing the right to reprocessing nuclear fuel under the Indo-US civil nuclear deal. The deal is in the final stages of getting operationalised.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the College of Engineering, Pune's (CoEP) second global reunion, Banerjee said, "We have to be sure that we have the right to reprocess spent fuel, which will be generated by the nuclear reactors."

Referring to the Indo-US negotiations for a reprocessing agreement, Banerjee said, "We are working on this aspect." Negotiations on the reprocessing deal began in July. Among other things, the reprocessing agreement is critical to enabling American companies enter the civil nuclear sector in India.

Under the 123 Agreement, the US had agreed that India will set up a national facility dedicated to reprocessing safeguarded nuclear material under the International Atomic Energy Agency.

However, both sides had to agree on the "arrangements and procedures" under which reprocessing would take place in this new facility. "We have given them (the US) the possibility of two sites (for the reprocessing facility)," Banerjee said.

To read more, please, visit The Times of India

GE hopes to build at least one Indian nuclear plant

General Electric Co expects to build at least one nuclear power plant in the country following last year's US-India civil nuclear cooperation pact, a senior official said on Monday.

In July, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had said Delhi had approved two sites for US companies to build nuclear power plants, offering American companies the first fruits of last year's landmark agreement.

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Why alternative energy sources such as biofuels, solar, and nuclear are not the magic ticket - By Michael Grunwald

As the world looks around anxiously for an alternative to oil, energy sources such as biofuels, solar, and nuclear seem like they could be the magic ticket. They're not.

4: "Nuclear Power Is the Cure for Our Addiction to Coal."

Nope. Atomic energy is emissions free, so a slew of politicians and even some environmentalists have embraced it as a clean alternative to coal and natural gas that can generate power when there's no sun or wind. In the United States, which already gets nearly 20 percent of its electricity from nuclear plants, utilities are thinking about new reactors for the first time since the Three Mile Island meltdown three decades ago -- despite global concerns about nuclear proliferation, local concerns about accidents or terrorist attacks, and the lack of a disposal site for the radioactive waste. France gets nearly 80 percent of its electricity from nukes, and Russia, China, and India are now gearing up for nuclear renaissances of their own.
To read more, please, visit Foreign Policy

Pokhran II successful, insists Kalam

Seeking to put a lid on the controversy over Pokhran II nuclear explosions, former President A P J Abdul Kalam on Thursday said the tests were successful and had generated the desired yield

"After the test, there was a detailed review, based on the two experimental results: (i) seismic measurement close to the site and around and (ii) radioactive measurement of the material after post shot drill in the test site," Kalam said.

"From these data, it has been established by the project team that the design yield of the thermo-nuclear test has been obtained," said Kalam, who as director general of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, spearheaded the nuclear tests in 1998.

India conducted five nuclear tests on May 11 and 13, 1998 at the Pokhran range in Rajasthan which included a 45 kiloton (kt) thermonuclear device, called as hydrogen bomb in common parlance.

To read more, please, visit The Times of India