Nuclear Projects

Biases hinder creation of theatre commands critical for battlefield synergy

Almost five years later, the three services have still not fully understood that joint/theatre commands are not a discussion point

Discussions on with Westinghouse for Kovvada nuclear project: Govt

The Union government on Tuesday said discussions were in progress with the Westinghouse Electric Company of the US for a viable project proposal to build six 1000-MW nuclear reactors at Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh. In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh, said the land for the main plant area for Kovvada Nuclear Power Plant of 2079.66 acres has been acquired and mutated in the name of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). Singh said 190.7 acres of land has been acquired for an R&R (rehabilitation and resettlement) colony and land for the employees' township has been identified by district administration. The minister said pre-project activities such as preliminary geotechnical investigations, and geological and seismo-tectonic studies have been completed. The construction of a 13-km boundary wall, the establishment of six micro earthquake stations and the establishment of one meteorological monitoring lab ..

Iran plans to install new uranium-enrichment centrifuges, says IAEA report

More enrichment capacity means Iran can enrich uranium more quickly, potentially increasing the nuclear proliferation risk

Foes on earth, pals on Moon: India-China may tie-up for lunar nuclear plant

India wants to join Russia's ambitious plans for a nuclear power plant on the Moon, which is part of a broader lunar base project in collaboration with China

US is 15 years behind China in nuclear power, claims report. Key details

According to a US-based research institute, China currently has 27 under-construction nuclear reactors, with an average completion time of approximately seven years - much faster than other nations

Iran installs advanced centrifuges amid tensions high over nuke programme

Iran has started up new cascades of advanced centrifuges and plans to install others in the coming weeks after facing criticism over its nuclear programme, the United Nations' atomic watchdog said Friday. The US called the moves nuclear escalations. Spinning up new centrifuges further advances Iran's nuclear programme, which already enriches uranium at near-weapons-grade levels and boasts a stockpile enough for several nuclear bombs if it chose to pursue them. However, the acknowledgement from the International Atomic Energy Agency did not include any suggestion Iran planned to go to higher enrichment levels amid wider tensions between Tehran and the West as the Israel-Hamas war rages in the Gaza Strip. The IAEA said its inspectors verified Monday that Iran had begun feeding uranium into three cascades of advanced IR-4 and IR-6 centrifuges at its Natanz enrichment facility. Cascades are a group of centrifuges that spin uranium gas together to more quickly enrich the uranium. So far,

Pak sustained its nuclear programme despite economic turmoil: US official

Pakistan sustained its nuclear modernisation efforts last year despite its economic turmoil as its contentious relationship with India continues to drive its defence policy, the top US intelligence official has told Congress. The remarks by Lt Gen Jeffrey Kruse, Director of the Defence Intelligence Agency came during a Congressional hearing on China on Monday???. Kruse told lawmakers that Pakistan has sought international support, including from the UN Security Council, to resolve its dispute with India about Kashmir. Separately, Islamabad and New Delhi have maintained an uneasy ceasefire along the shared Line of Control since February 2021, he said. Pakistan has sustained its nuclear modernisation efforts despite its economic turmoil. Terrorist violence against Pakistani security forces and civilians also rose last year, he said. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Pakistan is reported to have 170 nuclear warheads as of January 2023. Cash-strapped .

Drone attack on Russia's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant increases accident risk

The head of the UN's atomic watchdog agency said Sunday a drone attack on one of six nuclear reactors at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant significantly increase the risk of a major nuclear accident." In a statement on the social media platform X, Rafael Mariano Grossi confirmed at least three direct hits against ZNPP main reactor containment structures took place. This cannot happen, he said. He said it was the first such attack since November 2022, when he set out five basic principles to avoid a serious nuclear accident with radiological consequences. In a separate statement, the IAEA confirmed physical impact of drone attacks at the plant, including at one of its six reactors. One casualty was reported, it said. "Damage at unit 6 has not compromised nuclear safety, but this is a serious incident with potential to undermine integrity of the reactor's containment system it added. Officials at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant said that

India, France in talks for financing mechanism for Jaitapur n-project

India and France are trying to move forward on elements related to putting in place a financing mechanism and localisation component for the 9,900 MWe Jaitapur nuclear power plant in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district. Responding to questions on civil nuclear cooperation between India and France and whether the Jaitapur project was put on pause, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said the French power company EDF and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) were discussing elements such as a financing mechanism and localisation component of the project. "The two entities on both sides -- EDF and NPCIL -- are essentially trying to move forward on these issues and a whole lot of progress has been made," the foreign secretary said. The first memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the Jaitapur nuclear project was inked in 2009 with French nuclear supplier Areva, which went bankrupt. In 2016, the EDF and NPCIL signed a revised MoU, and an "industrial way forward" in the ...

India's Nuclear Power Corporation to commission new reactor every year

NPCIL chairman and managing director BC Pathak expressed confidence in India's self-sufficiency in energy security

India, Russia sign deal for future units of Kudankulam power plant in TN

Jaishankar is expected to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday, and the two ministers plan to discuss bilateral ties as well as the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza

US, South Korea urge i'ntl push to curb North Korean nuclear programme

The national security advisers of the United States, South Korea and Japan called on Saturday for a stronger international push to suppress North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and missiles and its military cooperation with other countries amid concerns about its alleged arms transfers to Russia. The meeting in Seoul came as tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest in years, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accelerating the expansion of his nuclear and missile program and flaunting an escalatory nuclear doctrine that authorizes the preemptive use of nuclear weapons. The United States and its Asian allies have responded by increasing the visibility of their trilateral security cooperation in the region and strengthening their combined military exercises, which Kim condemns as invasion rehearsals. In a joint news conference after the meeting, Cho said the three security advisers reaffirmed North Korea's obligations under multiple U.N. Security Council ...

UN watchdog slams Iran for barring inspectors from monitoring programme

The UN nuclear watchdog harshly criticised Iran on Saturday for effectively barring several of its most experienced inspectors from monitoring the country's disputed programme. The strongly worded statement came amid longstanding tensions between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is tasked with monitoring a nuclear programme that Western nations have long suspected is aimed at eventually developing a nuclear weapon. Iran insists the program is peaceful. Rafael Mariano Grossi, the head of the IAEA, said Iran had withdrawn the designation of "several experienced Agency inspectors," barring them from taking part in the monitoring of its programme. "Iran has effectively removed about one third of the core group of the Agency's most experienced inspectors designated for Iran, he said. Grossi went on to strongly condemn this disproportionate and unprecedented unilateral measure, saying it constitutes an unnecessary blow to an already strained relationship between the

Japan enacts law to extend operating period of nuclear plants beyond 60 yrs

Japanese parliament has enacted legislation to allow nuclear reactors in the country to be operated beyond the current limit of 60 years in a push to cut carbon emissions

Iran's media claims UN watchdog closes line of inquiry on nuclear programme

Iran's state-run news agency claimed Tuesday that international inspectors had closed off two lines of inquiry they had over Tehran's nuclear programme ahead of a scheduled quarterly report by the United Nations' nuclear watchdog. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, however, did not respond to questions over the report published by Iran's state-run IRNA news agency. Citing knowledgeable sources, IRNA said that the IAEA had closed off its inquiry over the recent discovery of traces of uranium enriched up to 83.7 per cent purity. A quarterly IAEA report in March said inspectors found the particles in Iran's underground Fordo nuclear site, further raising nonproliferation concerns as weapons-grade material is enriched to 90 per cent. Iran had blamed unintended fluctuations for the discovery at Fordo nuclear site. The Islamic Republic has been producing uranium enriched to 60% purity a level which nonproliferation experts say Tehran does not need for civilian ...

BHEL, Nuclear Power Corp ink pact for nuclear power project opportunities

State-owned engineering firm Bharat Heavy Electricals and Nuclear Power Corporation have inked an initial pact to jointly pursue business opportunities in nuclear power based on pressurised heavy water reactor technology. Under the pact, BHEL and NPCIL will jointly explore opportunities for the development of nuclear power projects to reduce project gestation time. "State-run PSUs Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) have entered into an MoU (memorandum of understanding) to jointly pursue business opportunities in the area of Nuclear Power Plants based on Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) technology," a statement said on Wednesday. In the presence of VK Saraswat (Member NITI Aayog), KN Vyas (Secretary Department of Atomic Energy & Chairman Atomic Energy Commission) and Kamran Rizvi (Secretary Ministry of Heavy Industries), the MoU was signed by BHEL CMD Nalin Shinghal and Bhuwan Chandra Pathak, CMD NPCIL at Niti ...

No compromise on Nuke program, says Pak's Finance Minister amid cash crunch

Amid the hike in prices of commodities and cash crunch, Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar asserted that they won't compromise on the nuclear and missile programmes, Dawn reported

Nuclear power: All that you need to know about small modular reactors

Small modular reactors are advanced reactors that have a power generation capacity of up to 300 megawatts (MW) per unit

Iran does not seek to develop nuclear weapons, says President Ebrahim Raisi

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has said his country did not seek to develop nuclear weapons but would employ nuclear technology for civilian purposes

Satellite images suggest Iran preparing for rocket launch amid tensions

Iran appeared to be readying for a space launch Tuesday as satellite images showed a rocket on a rural desert launch pad, just as tensions remain high over Tehran's nuclear program