R. Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, said on Saturday that the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, which had very high safety features, could be commissioned anytime after running the necessary tests.
“The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and the Nuclear Power Corporation will take absolute care to make sure that every thing is safe before giving the clearance,” Dr. Chidambaram said. “The job of the regulatory board is to examine every test they do and then give clearance,” he said, adding that he could not give specific dates as he was not in the loop, but it was his guess that it could happen anytime now. Emphasising on the safety of nuclear energy, he said that for all practical purposes nuclear energy was safe and India had an excellent safety record in nuclear energy. “Nuclear power is safe and green,” he said.
He was in the city to participate in the 120th birth anniversary celebrations of statistician Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis whose birthday (June 29) is celebrated as Statistics Day. The event was held at the Indian Statistical Institute.
Highlighting the growing importance of India in the international arena, Dr. Chidambaram said: “India will need the world in the short term and the world will need India in the long term.”
He said that nuclear desalination (production of clean water with the use of nuclear reactor) and seawater desalination would play a crucial role in fulfilling the demand for clean drinking water for Indians. He cited the case of Israel which was using its limited water resources with high efficiency.
