“There will be no slowdown in the Indian nuclear power programme as a direct consequence of the events in Japan or the review called by the Prime Minister,” said Mr S. K. Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL).
The review will lead to revisiting the existing safety aspects and the need for increased measures of safeguards against higher earthquakes, tsunamis or other threats, he told newspersons while explaining the Japanese accident.
NPCIL will buy reactors on its terms. There is also no compulsion to buy from any company. It is purely on the needs and demands of the country, he replied to questions on the proposed reactors being negotiated with GE, Areva and other multinationals for the upcoming new plants.
NPCIL has proposed new power units at Jaitapur in Maharashtra (where conditional clearance has already been obtained from the Ministry of Environment), and Kovvada in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh with reactors from GE and Areva. “The negotiations for deciding on the reactor and other important aspects are on at present,” he said.
Assuring that the Indian reactors (two boiling water at Tarapur and 18 pressurised heavy water reactors) operational were designed with the highest safety standards, Mr Jain said increasing safety will mean that the costs per unit of installed capacity of nuclear power plant would further go up.
Mr R. N. Jayaraj, Chief Executive of the Nuclear Fuel Complex, here said the NFC has chalked out a strategy to set up fuel fabrication facilities close to the site of the upcoming 10 units of 700 MW PHWRs based on transport and logistics.