The Hindu : National : Changes in Atomic Energy Act soon, says Kakodkar

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Wednesday, May 23, 2007
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Changes in Atomic Energy Act soon, says Kakodkar

Antara Das

Kolkata : The Atomic Energy Act will be amended "as soon as possible" to enable private sector participation in the civilian nuclear programme, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission Anil Kakodkar said here on Tuesday.

"Certainly more players can come into nuclear energy that has so much potential but it has to be synchronised with the amended Act," he said.

Dr. Kakodkar was here to receive the annual Raja Ram Mohan Puraskar for 2007, which has been instituted by the Ram Mohan Mission. The Puraskar includes a cash award of Rs. 5 lakh, a citation and a gold medal.

On reprocessing of spent fuel, he said he expected the United States to agree to it in the spirit of the July 18 agreement on civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries.

"Recycling had been followed as a consistent policy since the beginning of India's nuclear programme as it reduces waste to a very small amount and makes it possible to derive 60 to 80 per cent more energy from the same," he said, adding that recycling was important for assuring sustainable sources of energy as well as a sustainable solution to long term environmental concerns.

Dr. Kakodkar said the 500 MW Fast Breeder Reactor under construction at Kalpakkam was expected to be completed by 2010-2011. India was one of the few countries in the world that had mastered this technology and was in the process of using it commercially.

"India had also moved aggressively towards augmentation of its uranium resources in the last four to five years," Dr. Kakodkar said. With new technology being brought in, the uranium output was expected to increase further within the next five years.

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