The Hindu : Front Page : Pact important to fulfil energy needs: Kalam

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Monday, May 12, 2008
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Pact important to fulfil energy needs: Kalam

Mumbai: The former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, on Sunday said the country will have to depend on nuclear power for future needs. For this it will need the uranium supplies that the India-U.S. civil nuclear pact can facilitate. “We need the uranium supply and the pact is important if we want to meet the target of nuclear energy contribution in the total energy production.”

He was speaking at a function at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre here to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the ‘Shakti’ series of the Pokhran nuclear tests. Mr. Kalam, who had played a key role in Pokhran II, said: “Currently, we have an installed capacity of only 3,900 MW which the Department of Atomic Energy plans to take to 7,160 MW by 2012 and to 24,000 MW by 2020.

“Our uranium reserves are limited. We will need a certain amount of uranium to attain the next stage in the fuel cycle producing energy on thorium which is available in abundance in India.”

Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar said the country was no longer “technology limited” but “raw material limited” and exuded confidence that India would overcome the limitation. Dr. Kakodkar,part of the negotiation on the deal, declined to comment on its status.

“We have discussed this deal with other countries and the IAEA. Now the rest of the decision is not technical. We should adopt strategies that would bridge the gap [of uranium supply] as early as possible without compromising our autonomy to pursue our own development as planned, both in strategic as well as the three-stage programmes.” — PTI

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