Indian Leader Goes to Bat for Nuclear Energy

BANGALORE, INDIA—In a major boost for the embattled nuclear industry, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 21 August voiced strong support for nuclear power. "I am convinced that nuclear energy will play an important role in our quest for a clean and environmentally friendly energy mix," Singh said at the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics in Kolkata in West Bengal.

Pundits view Singh's statement as a rebuke to the West Bengal government, which earlier this month cancelled plans for a 10,000 MW nuclear power park that was to have been built in the coastal city of Haripur. In explaining its decision, the state government said that Haripur is too densely populated to host a nuclear plant and it worried about the integrity of the region's fisheries.

While Haripur has been put on ice, earlier this month India laid foundations for two 700 MW reactors at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan. Singh noted that safety is a critical issue: "This is a matter on which there can be no compromise." India's 20 nuclear reactors have around 4000 MW of installed capacity.