Government has diversified the applications of nuclear energy in various social fields, says Minister
The Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said that we have been able to fulfil the vision of Homi Bhabha. He added that Homi Bhabha had then said that India’s nuclear power will be for peaceful purposes. The Government has diversified the applications of nuclear energy in various social fields. He was speaking at the inauguration of 11th Nuclear Energy Conclave, being held here today.
The Minister said that the Government has taken various steps to promote the scientific temper in the country, specially in the Department of Atomic Energy and Space. He said earlier the Atomic power plants were restricted in Southern India, now the Government is setting up the nuclear plants in other parts of the country. A nuclear plant is coming up in the Gorakhpur of Haryana, he added. He said that the Headquarters of both the departments are outside Delhi. To educate the students and general public about the applications of nuclear energy, a “Hall of Nuclear Energy” was opened in Pragati Maidan in Delhi and a similar Hall is being planned for the Department of Space, he added. Dr Jitendra Singh said that under the leadership of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, we have been able to achieve much in these fields in the last five years. He quoted various examples such as joint ventures in nuclear energy and increase in budget etc. He also spoke about the use of nuclear energy in the field of medicine, specially cancer care. He added that the Dr B.Borooah Cancer Institute in Guwahati has been affiliated to the Tata Memorial Centre for Cancer, Mumbai. The Minister said that DAE is also working towards the implementation of flagship programmes of the Government, with Tata Memorial Centre being the first to shift to cashless transactions.
The Minister said that awareness needs to be created among the public about busting the myths associated with the use of nuclear energy. He said that the nuclear energy is a source of energy to meet the rising energy demands of India. He added that in our day to day life, it is an instrument of ‘ease of living’.
The Secretary, DAE and Chairman, AEC, Dr K N Vyas speaking on the “Long term vision for Nuclear Energy” said that climate change scenario has gone more grimmer and it is dangerous to the humanity if we continue the business as usual. He emphasised on the reduction in the carbonisation. He said that nuclear energy is an undeniable option to fight global warming. He added that other sources such as solar and wind energy require large land and other technologies, being expensive in nature. Dr Vyas said that India has gained large experience in construction and commissioning of reactors.
The Former Chairman, AEC, Dr Anil Kakodkar spoke on “Nuclear Power India’s Development Imperatives”. He said that access to the imported uranium can accelerate the nuclear program size as well as large scale thorium deployment. We have now much lesser constraints to move ahead, he added. He talked about Short term actions on the part of DAE such as early movement on FBR deployment and early deployment of indigenous LWRs. He also spoke about some urgent actions Th-LEV fuelled AHWR for zero impact in public domain. The NPCIL should focus on cost competitiveness and short project gestation period to realise low tariff. Dr Kakodhar said that given our large energy endowments in terms on thorium and solar energy, can India become a net exporter of clean and safe energy before it is too late. He
The Member, AEC, Dr RB Grover, while speaking on “Comparing electricity generation technologies from consideration of economics” said that globally electricity generation contributes to 40% of carbon emission, the next target being transport sector. He added that for any technology to succedd, it has to be robust and commercial.
The Chairman, Nuclear Energy Group, India Energy Forum and Chancellor Homi Bhabha National Institute, Dr. Srikumar Banerjee said that nuclear energy is what we can claim to be totally indigenous.
The President, India Energy Forum (IEF) and Former Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India Shri Anil Razdan and the Convenor, Nuclear, IEF and Former ED, BHEL, Shri SM Mahajan also spoke on the occasion.
During the conclave, three technical sessions are also being held on the themes: “Growth of Nuclear Power for Meeting Base Load Demands- Opportunities & Challenges for Manufacturing Industry” , “Use of Nuclear Energy in Healthcare and Municipal Waste Treatment” and “Emerging Technologies for Economy and Enhanced Safety viz, Small & Medium Size reactors, Passive Safety features, Molten Salt Reactors”, chaired by Shri AK Balasubrahmanian, Director (Tech.), NPCIL and Shri G Nageswara Rao, Chairman, AERB and Dr A K Bhaduri, Director, IGCAR, respectively. The eminent speakers include Dr Dinesh Srivastava, CE, Nuclear Fuel Complex, Shri Nikita Mazein, President, Rosatom Overseas, Shri Thomas Mieusset, Nuclear Counselor, French Embassy India, Shri YS Trivedi, Sr. Executive Vice President, Larsen & Toubro Ltd. Other speakers being, Dr Srikumar Banerjee on “Molten Salt Reactors” and Dr Arun Nayak, Reactor Engineering Division, BARC on “Concept design of Passive Safe Integral LWRs for Accelerated Capacity Building”. Dr Harsh Mahajan, MD, Mahajan Imaging on Nuclear Energy for Diagnostics, Dr Sudeep Gupta, Director, ACTREC, Tata Memorial Centre on “Nuclear Energy for Therapeutics” and Ms Kritika Kaur, Technical Manager, Nuvia India on “Management of radioactive Waste in Health Care & research Sectors” are other distinguished speakers.
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