No time frame set for India-specific safeguards agreement

Mumbai, Nov 17 (PTI) India has not set a time-line on
signing of the India-specific safeguards agreement with the
International Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A.) as the
discussions on additional protocol are not yet completed,
Atomic Energy Commission (A.E.C.) chairman Anil Kakodkar said
here Monday.

"Discussions on additional protocol are going on and
work is in progress," he told media here.

Signing of the India-specific safeguards agreement
was an important step for operationalising the international
civil nuclear cooperation. Additional protocols are requisites
for signing the agreement with I.A.E.A.

Asked whether India has set a time frame for
completing the formalities on additional protocol, he said,
"we have not set any time frame, we are working on the issue
and it would be completed as soon as possible."

On a question if India would be able to give 20,000 MW
by 2020 as promised, he said, "yes, in fact little more than
that."

"By 2012, 7200 MW will be available. With 2500 MW from
fast breeder reactor and 10,000 MW from pressurised heavy
water reactor and few thousands from imported reactors, we
would be in a comfortable position to produce even more than
20,000 MW," Kakodkar said.

Meanwhile, speaking on the safety of Indian nuclear
power plants, deputy director general of I.A.E.A. T. Taniguchi
said that I.A.E.A. appreciates India's efforts in maintaining
and sustaining safety record. India's role in convention of
nuclear safety has to be appreciated, he said.

On safety of the Indian plants, Nuclear Power
Corporation of India chairman and managing director S.K. Jain
said, "India is a founding member of World Association of
Nuclear Operators (W.A.N.O.) and 14 to 20 experts from various
countries come and do exhaustive peer review and share their
experiences."

The W.A.N.O. has safety indicators and therefore Indian
reactors have multilateral safety checks in place, Jain added.

While speaking on long-term wastes, Kakodkar said it
was important to reduce the toxicity in a period of 300 years.

On the nuclear protection and safety for communities,
Kakodkar said with the strong existing scientific evidences
(quoting example of high background radiation of Kerala
beaches), the society must understand that there is a
threshold and below which there is no harm.

The experts were here for an international conference
on 'Topical Issues in Nuclear Installation Safety: Ensuring
safety for sustainable nuclear development'. PTI LV
PMR