The Hindu : National : Government doubtful of restarting RAPS-I unit

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 18, 2006

National

National

Government doubtful of restarting RAPS-I unit

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: While maintaining that the country's nuclear energy programme was one of the safest in the world, the Government expressed pessimism about restarting the first unit of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS-I).

The unit was shut down in October 2004 as it had reached the end of its economic life, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan said, replying to supplementaries during question hour in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

``We are evaluating the safety features as well as conducting a techno-economic feasibility study. It is difficult to tell, if at all, it will be revived,'' added Mr. Chavan. The RAPS-I began commercial operations in 1973 and was designed for an economic life of 25 years. ``However, we managed to extend its operations by another six years and it could now be used for other purposes such as training. It is premature at this stage to fix any time frame for the commencement of operation as detailed evaluation is still under way,'' he said.

Asked by K. Kasturirangan (Nominated) about the meantime failure rate of Indian operating reactors as compared to the world average, Mr. Chavan pointed out that though there were initial problems with reactors based on imported technology, the current lot of reactors were among the best operating ones anywhere in the world.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National