To give boost to nuclear power generation in the country, the government has proposed joint ventures between Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and other Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) like the NTPC, Indian Oil and NALCO. However, this is subject to the passing of Atomic Energy Amendment Bill 2015 introduced in the Lok Sabha. The JVs proposed with other PSUs is to pool equity for expanding installed nuclear power capacity.
Jitendra Singh is the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences and MoS for Prime Minister Office Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space.
Did You Know???
- Nuclear power plants use “nuclear fission” (the process of splitting an atom in two). “Nuclear fusion” (the process of combining atoms into one) has the potential to be safer but has not yet been developed to operate within a large power plant.
- Well known nuclear power plant accidents have occurred in Three Mile Island (1979), Chernobyl (1986) and in Fukushima (2011).
- Nuclear reactors produce radioactive waste which can be difficult to dispose of safely.
- The Calder Hall nuclear power station in the UK was the first to deliver commercial quantities of electricity (1956).
- The world’s first nuclear power plant to create electricity for a power grid was USSR’s Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, which opened on June 27, 1954.
- Nuclear energy is being used in more than 30 countries around the world and even powers Mars rovers.
