Chennai, After giving the green signal to the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa on Saturday demanded that the entire 2000 MW power to be generated by its two units be given to the state in view of the "severe power shortage." In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, she said it would be "proper and justifiable that the entire power to be generated from the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant is made available to Tamil Nadu." "This is also inevitable as the transmission corridor congestion problem still continues and has also been brought to your notice," she said in the missive coming almost two weeks after the state cabinet gave the nod for the plant. The chief minister pointed out that out of the 2000 MW to be generated by two units in KNPP, Tamil Nadu has been allocated a share of 925 MW only. She recalled she had already made a request of allocation of 1000 MW from Central pool last year against which a "mere 100 MW" was made available to the state which was facing "severe power shortage". "I hope that this request will be positively considered by you. May I also reiterate that we require and deserve this power?" she ...
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NEW YORK/VIENNA : The United Nations (UN) on Monday announced that a group of international experts is assessing the radiation damage caused by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan last year. The group of sixty experts kicked off a week-long meeting in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Monday in order to identity critical gaps in the data which is available, where additional focus is required, and how to ensure the quality and reliability of what the assessment is based on. "We are putting together a jigsaw puzzle, evaluating the exposures of the general public, of workers, and radiation effects, and looking for the missing pieces," said Wolfgang Weiss, Chair of the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). The power plant was damaged in March 2011 when a massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami struck to eastern coast of Japan. The disaster knocked out water cooling systems at the plant, contaminating air, water, plants and animals with radioactive plumes dozens of kilometers (miles) from the site. Data is being collected and evaluated from different sources, including Japan, the UN Food and ...
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TEHRAN : An underground uranium site in southern Iran will be fully operational by the end of the month, Tehran's top nuclear official told state-run media on Sunday. Fereydoun Abbasi, who heads Iran's Atomic Energy Agency, said the nuclear plant in the port city of Bushehr is expected to reach full capacity by the end of the month. The plant was connected to Iran's electricity grid in September with a capacity of 60 megawatts. But Iranian officials expect the plant will be able to reach 1,000 megawatts and provide approximately 2.5 percent of the country's current electricity consumption. "The Bushehr plant, located along the Persian Gulf coast, will reach its full capacity of 1,000 megawatts by February 1," Abbasi said, as quoted by the Fars news agency. International concerns regarding Iran's nuclear activities have been increasing for decades. While Iran has repeatedly stated that its nuclear program is for the peaceful purpose of providing energy, many countries contend it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Abbasi, while speaking during a conference in Bandar Abbas, said Tehran had shown the new generation of its homemade centrifuge machines to the ...
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Chandigarh, January 24 (DNS)- Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today gave a call to NRIs to return to roots and become active partner in the economic development of the state. Inaugurating a conference “Making Punjab The Skill Capital of the World” organised by the International Punjabi Chamber for Service Industries (IPCSI) in collaboration with the Institute of Technology and Future Management Trends (ITFT) here today, Sukhbir said with Punjab emerging the main centre of the world to train and export skilled human resource to the world, time has come for NRIs to exploit this strength of Punjab by investing in the state. Presiding over the conference, Sewa Singh Sekhwan, Minister for NRI Affairs, explored Punjabi NRIs to rejuvenate their inherent strengths of hard work, entrepreneurial qualities and dedication. Sukhbir said Punjab was investing in developing human resource according to the changing needs of the industry. He said to provide quality human resource back up to the upcoming industry, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar, had already started classes. Moreover, Indian Institute of Information & Technology (IIIT) would be set up soon. The ...
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