There is somethings wrong in their understanding of the unstable situation between India and PakistanRoyG wrote:
That culminated in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) being signed a few months later in Paris. M V Kotwal, head of L&T's heavy engineering, said "we feel it's a good window of opportunity for both of us." Areva has been getting hammered on the cost front by South Korean companies, as well as others. The Indian government reckons that with L&T, both sides have a win-win opportunity. L&T can manufacture with top-notch technology but at competitive prices. Moreover, it can become a global relationship. Meanwhile, PM got a boost for his Make in India programme.
For Areva, which is expected to build six 1,650 MWe EPR reactors at Jaitapur, Maharashtra, having L&T manufacture critical components, including giant forgings could bring down costs substantially. That would have an impact on the final cost of power, which had become a sticking point in the negotiations. The deal between Areva and L&T allowed France and India to sign an early works agreement. Company and government officials say if the agreement takes off, India could also export components to third countries, giving both South Korea and China a run for their money.
Read it all. From comments:..$2.35 million came from family foundation of company chairman involved in selling Canadian uranium company to Russian state-owned firm
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Approval of Uranium One's sale helped Russian state nuclear agency Rosatom gain control of uranium assets in the US and Kazakhstan (
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Bill Clinton's trip to Kazakhstan and its president Nursultan Nazarbayev (pictured) helped paved the way for a major foundation donor Frank Giustra to start a booming uranium business there
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Nothing new for the Clintons. Bill accepted millions in donations to the same charity from China while working on the Free Trade agreement with China.
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"Anne-Marie Slaughter, the State Department's director of policy planning at the time, said she was unaware of the transaction- or the extent to which it made Russia a dominant uranium supplier". Somewhat surprising for a director of policy planning.
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How so? By trying to circumvent Indian law that his own party supported and import of questionable quality reactors at huge potential costs instead of investing in our own? Some Modi-fied foreign policy this is - it is more like MMS policy on steroids.kmkraoind wrote:Breaking out of Isolation-India's 'Modi-fied' foreign policy - Ramana Muppalla
One of the best article that connects all dots when it comes to Indian nuclear issues.
With this collaboration, L&T and Areva can really take big bite of Nuclear power plan Biz in Africa, South America , ME and even in Asia. Let Japanese keep doing their usual Ghusarpusar shenanigans. South Korea was/is good alternative to Japan as supplier but building at home is even better. Once MII =Make in India gain full momentum, Japani will be left with good option of 50 Onions in India to eat and 100 Dandas from China for beat treat feat.Kakkaji wrote:Read details on what was the real no. 1 deal made during NaMo's visit to France:
]That culminated in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) being signed a few months later in Paris. M V Kotwal, head of L&T's heavy engineering, said "we feel it's a good window of opportunity for both of us." Areva has been getting hammered on the cost front by South Korean companies, as well as others. The Indian government reckons that with L&T, both sides have a win-win opportunity. L&T can manufacture with top-notch technology but at competitive prices. Moreover, it can become a global relationship. Meanwhile, PM got a boost for his Make in India programme. The deal between Areva and L&T allowed France and India to sign an early works agreement. Company and government officials say if the agreement takes off, India could also export components to third countries, giving both South Korea and China a run for their money.
The best part of the article is, it is penned by our own Muppalla garu.Tuvaluan wrote:Indeed, schinnas. The pattern is there to see. None of the current U purchase on the market or any of the current steps would have been possible without the "Indo US deal" and the author has rightly called out how India's signing of similar deals with France and Russia offset the risks of being beholden to NPT/CTBT. Even now, India is quite willing to do business with the USA, and the US govt. has stepped back and asked the companies to negotiate with the Indian govt, and none of the US companies are willing to do that...so the ball is in the court of US companies.
Tirunelveli (TN) May 10
Power generation in the first unit of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) has been suspended due to a technical snag, officials said today.
However, repair work has already been commenced to rectify the snag, which was detected yesterday and it would be set right in one or two days, they said.
Work on commercial power generation in the 1,000 MW second unit was also continuing, the officials said.
You would think this analyst would at least recognize that China has as much motivation as the US in ensuring that India signs up to four letter treaties as the US does. Besides, what is all this about aligning India's moves based on Obama's "clean energy" desires? Not to mention, his asinine idea of exchanging nuclear tech with china, i.e., willingly handing over Indian IP to China. China's Nuclear plants are sourced from US Westinghouse for the most part -- their more advanced models IIRC.Despite their multiple differences and growing strategic contestation in Asia, China and the United States are eager to develop nuclear energy cooperation. President Barack Obama has asked the U.S. Senate this week to approve a new 30-year civil nuclear cooperation agreement with China.
The agreement will allow the exchange of nuclear material, equipment and technology between the two countries. Climate change has been a major driver behind the Obama Administration’s decision. It should also animate the discussions between Modi and the Chinese leadership on moving quickly towards atomic energy cooperation.
Source: http://www.barc.gov.in/clip/bhabhatron.htmlDepartment of Atomic Energy (DAE) has given high priority to health care, especially for cancer treatment. DAE has been funding cancer hospitals for cancer research and setting up of treatment facilities. Radioisotopes, produced in research reactors and power reactors in the country, are being used for diagnosis, treatment and sterilization of medical products. DAE has also been in developing tools and techniques for treating the killer disease. Bhabhatron, the indigenous telecobalt machine, is one of the successful products developed by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai for cancer treatment.
KAZAN, May 15. /TASS/. The start-up of the second power unit at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, which India is building with Russia’s assistance, is scheduled for the summer of 2015, Russian civilian nuclear power corporation Rosatom Deputy Head Alexander Lokshin said on Friday.
"The second unit of the Kudankulam NPP will be launched in the summer of 2015 and this year surely," the Rosatom official said, adding the final launch dates would depend on the Indian side.
In 2010, Russia and India signed a roadmap envisaging the construction of up to 14 or 16 Russian-design power units in India.
Austin wrote:Start-up of 2nd power unit at India’s Kudankulam NPP planned for summer — Rosatom
KAZAN, May 15. /TASS/. The start-up of the second power unit at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, which India is building with Russia’s assistance, is scheduled for the summer of 2015, Russian civilian nuclear power corporation Rosatom Deputy Head Alexander Lokshin said on Friday.
"The second unit of the Kudankulam NPP will be launched in the summer of 2015 and this year surely," the Rosatom official said, adding the final launch dates would depend on the Indian side.
In 2010, Russia and India signed a roadmap envisaging the construction of up to 14 or 16 Russian-design power units in India.
Invest in diversity across the board
Be agnostic to any source of affordable energy in the short term.
Already the case as seen by the number of different countries in which India has a stake in U mines
Trade with suppliers, buy from trading partners
Diversify trade relations with existing suppliers and/or substitute them with countries that already have significant trade relations with India.
Not quite that simple -- as seen with Australia/Japan -- Non-proliferation/arms control interests raise barriers, but the previous and current govt. have been trying to bring them down
Purchase preferably from competitive markets
Manage political risks by purchasing fuel supplies in all processing stages, from markets which have multiple players.
Already being done
Make markets more competitive if they are not
Work with cartels like Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) if the opportunity costs are manageable. If not, dismantle them.
Can't just dismantle these cartels from the outside -- unrealistic advice.
Fuel is fungible, so use it wisely
Not really -- only locally mined fuel is fungible, not the fuel acquired from the international market. that was the whole point with the civilian-military separation in the Indo-US "deal".
Use price sensitivity as a purchasing principle.
cartel controls make price sensitivity political as much as commercial
Share the risks between plant communities and user communities
Price and distribute the risks of plant communities.
Requires that both communities see the same reality to cooperate in that manner -- hard to do when NGOs like Greenpeace and other Church-driven NGOs like PMANE actively spread disinformation, along with left-wing/congress party drones
Secure supply routes
Factor in the sea/land route availability and safety.
air transporation is also viable and possibly less risky than sea/land transportation
Invest in domestic industry
Hedge against the prospect of trade restrictions or transport disruptions affecting its supply security by investing in a domestic industry.
Must also include local nuclear plants and the Thorium program -- GoI's deals with France (for example) recently indicate they are already doing this.
Catherine Shakdam is a political analyst, writer and commentator for the Middle East with a special focus on radical movements and Yemen.
May 29, 2015 10:51
A Hatf-VI (Shaheen-II) missile (background) is displayed during the Pakistan Day parade in Islamabad March 23, 2015. (Reuters)
Saudi Arabia's seemingly ever-expanding ambitions threaten now to draw the region and the world closer to the edge of a dangerous precipice as it seeks to buy out Pakistan's nuclear power.
Just as Iran and the P5+1 are set to finalize a tentative nuclear deal by June's end, offering the world a much-needed respite from talks of war and aggravated political tensions, Saudi Arabia is stretching its nuclear ambitions.
The most violent, reactionary and arguably most oppressive regime, in not just the region but the world, is now has ambitions to rise to a nuclear power. It is actually much worse than that - the very state which interpretation of Islam, Wahhabism, has inspired an entire generation of radical wannabe jihadists is vying for access to nuclear weapons.
If Iran's alleged nuclear race was mainly the expression of western political posturing - even Mossad agreed that both Washington’s and Tel Aviv's concerns have been largely over-hyped and over-played - Riyadh's ambition is no laughing matter, especially when the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) leadership boasted a similar desire.
Although the kingdom has yet to officially verbalize its nuclear intentions, enough breadcrumbs have been left in the media to spell the writing on the wall. In true PR fashion, Saudi Arabia has planted a sufficient amount of stories on its "covert" nuclear program and military aspirations in the press to prove how serious its officials are about conditioning public opinion and driving the narrative.
The main axis of Riyadh's campaign has been and will be to justify going nuclear on the basis that Iran stands a regional threat - however unfounded and ludicrous this logic may be, wars have been fought over less sophisticated allegations. We're still looking for those weapons of mass destruction.
Arm-ageddon: US to resupply Israel’s bombs & missiles arsenal, sell attack choppers to S. Arabia
Beyond this clever media stunt, one truth remains - unless stopped Saudi Arabia will become the next world nuclear power, joining Israel (believed to possess nukes) in this potentially-apocalyptic arm race.
Rumors of a forthcoming Saudi nuclear race first surfaced in November 2013 in a report by Mark Urban for the BBC. The article read, "Saudi Arabia has invested in Pakistani nuclear weapons projects, and believes it could obtain atomic bombs at will, a variety of sources have told BBC Newsnight."
If developing a nuclear arsenal remains a complicated and time consuming endeavor, notwithstanding the technological prowess that entails, leeching on another power's capability - Pakistan in this case - could prove as simple as wiring money to an offshore account. What Saudi Arabia lacks, it will buy. There is literally nothing Al-Saud's petrodollars cannot acquire: from political support to moral blank checks, the kingdom moves immune to all criticism and legal hindrance, cloaked under America's exceptionalism.
(* This is due to the most intimate business relationship that the US establishment has with the House of Saud. The Bush family,Saudi royalty and Bin laden family are alleged partners. This also explains why the US will never desert the Pakis,because of the Saudi factor.The Saudis "own" the Pakis.It is their vassal state its servant and will always protect its courtiers who serve it,proetct it,and wipe its ...!)
After Western powers took so much pain in demonizing Iran and its leadership, painting the Islamic Republic as a devilish warmonger, a destroyer of world which only seeks to indoctrinate the Middle East, how will Washington and Europe's capitals react to a nuclear Riyadh? They simply won't!
Unlike Iran, Saudi Arabia remains a useful and ever so rich western ally, and therefore it will be allowed the means of its ambitions. Whatever rumors and reports are circulating today have long been known to the intelligence community. The US actually anticipated Riyadh's move long before Iran's own program became such a contentious matter.
Mohammed bin Salman, deputy crown prince and defense minister of Saudi Arabia (Reuters)
For almost a decade now, the Saudis have more and more openly staked their claim, pushing their pawns across the chess game without bothering to cover their tracks.
In 2007, the US mission in Riyadh noted they were being asked questions by Pakistani diplomats about US knowledge of "Saudi-Pakistani nuclear cooperation." By 2012, Saudi officials went to the Times warning, "it would be completely unacceptable to have Iran with a nuclear capability and not the kingdom."
From that point on, Riyadh has worked toward that goal, using Iran as both an excuse and an alibi.
Reportedly, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi defense minister and deputy crown prince, is currently visiting Pakistan to iron out the details of this covert nuclear deal. In hindsight, Yemen's war proves a perfect and all too suspiciously timely distraction.
S. Arabia calls in off-the-shelf nuke option with Pakistan – report
And though a Saudi Defense Ministry official dismissed in comments to CNN on May 19 that the kingdom intends to purchase Pakistan A-bombs, experts like Stephen Lendman, a veteran political analyst and acclaimed author are not biting.
Looking at developments in the region, Saudi Arabia's nuclear aspirations are not a figment of the imagination, but rather an affirmation of the kingdom's new hawkish stance vis a vis foreign policy. Unlike his predecessor, King Abdullah ibn Saud, King Salman ibn Saud is no longer waiting for Washington to call the shots - it is drawing its ally in.
If the last ‘missed’ meeting at Camp David is anything to go by, it appears rather evident that Salman's snub was more than just a political play; it could prelude deeper ideological divergences, especially where foreign policy is concerned. Syria remains a sour point the kingdom has yet to get over.
Where it could not intervene militarily as it wished against Syrian President Bashar Assad, Saudi Arabia might seek to compensate vis a vis Iran by acquiring the weapon of all weapons.
In any case and whatever rationale Riyadh is following, a nuclear arm race in the Middle East can only end in more bloodshed and violence, especially when the IS army is planning its second expansionist wave.
Suspicious minds would even argue that Saudi Arabia's nuclear timing oddly overlaps with IS' allegations that it's now "infinitely" closer to buying a nuclear weapon. In an article titled ‘The Perfect Storm’, in the latest issue of ISIS' monthly English propaganda magazine, Dabiq, the terror group presents the idea that IS could purchase nuclear weapons from corrupt Pakistani officials, by way of militants in Islamic State's affiliated Pakistani militia group.
First, Japan has asked India for a dedicated nuclear reactor site, signaling that not only is it willing to shed all inhibitions of doing nuclear commerce with India but is also keen to be counted with the US, France and Russia as a power building nuclear parks here.
Second, India is giving big contracts for six reactors each to US blue-chip companies GE and Westinghouse. This is a big shift from India's long-standing policy of signing deals for two reactors at one go.
Third, a critical component of the nuclear industry, the insurance structure, will be activated next month when Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) buys a nuclear insurance policy at Rs 100-crore premium from a consortium that includes General Insurance Corporation (GIC) and a group called Nuclear Risk Insurers from Britain.
Kazakhstan, a leading uranium producer globally, will supply 5,000 tonnes of uranium to India during 2015-19, its President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced following his talks with Narendra Modi who was here on his second leg of the visit to Central Asia.
Kazakhstan will emerge as the biggest source of uranium for India besides Canada and Australia. This is the second such agreement between Astana and Delhi since 2009. Kazakhstan's uranium firm KazAtomProm supplied 600 MT of uranium ore concentrate in 2010-11, 350 MT in 2011-12, 402.5 MT in 2012-13 and 460 MT in 2013-14. The five year contract to supply uranium ended last year.
Slow moving.SaiK wrote:btw, why the thread title date is today some 4 years back?
The 500-MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam, near here, is getting ready to be commissioned in September. When the reactor goes critical, it will signal India’s triumphant entry into the second stage of its three-stage nuclear power programme.
The PFBR will use plutonium-uranium oxide as fuel and 1,750 tonnes of liquid sodium as coolant. It is called a breeder reactor because it breeds more fuel than it consumes. “We are committed to making the PFBR attain criticality in September,” said P. Chellapandi, chairman and managing director, Bharatiya Nabikhiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI), a public sector undertaking of the Department of Atomic Energy, tasked with building breeder reactors.
The PFBR construction had been completed and equipment energised. “We are awaiting clearance from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) for sodium charging, fuel loading, reactor criticality and then stepping up power generation,” Dr. Chellapandi said.
The AERB had sent several safety committees to the PFBR for inspection of design compliance and component specifications.
Dr. Chellapandi said: “We have kept the sodium frozen in 10 big tanks.
“All heat transport systems, comprising the pipelines, the heat exchanger components and tanks, have been filled with pure argon to avoid any chemical reaction with sodium and oxygen. We have to melt the sodium and pump it into the reactor circuits.”
After the sodium charging, engineers will perform thermal hydraulics experiments to check the functioning of the pumps and the heat exchanger.
Later, the AERB will give clearance for loading the fuel. In the first stage of the nuclear power programme, a fleet of Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors, running on natural uranium, had been built. In the second stage, a series of breeder reactors will come up. Reactors running on thorium will form the third stage.
Moscow, 15 July. /TASS/. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board of India (The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board-AERB) announced the completion of unit # 2 Kudankulam NPP, which was built in Tamil Nadu in southern India, with the participation of the Russian Federation. This follows from a statement by AERB, published on the official website of the regulator.
"Construction of unit 2 Kudankulam NPP completed. Currently the block is the initial commissioning activities, "the statement said of the Indian regulator.
As previously reported to the Deputy TASS Rosatom Alexander Lokshin, commissioning of the second block of the nuclear plant "Kudankulam" is scheduled for the summer of the year 2015, but the final timing will depend on the Indian side.
Russia has already handed over to India to guarantee the first power unit of Kudankulam NPP, which has now stopped for planned repairs.
Work on the construction of the third and fourth blocks of the NPP on the same site were scheduled to begin in 2015-2016.
Just Russia plans to build India up to 25 nuclear reactors in various parts of the country.
IF they can leverage the partnership with Rosatom it would be good for Indian industry , Last I saw Rosatom had a portfolio of $103 billion for all the reactor that is under construction and signed .. I am sure their own industry cant manage such huge orders alone and hence partnering India would be mutual beneficial.
After a record production this year, India is working on creating a 'strategic uranium reserve' to ensure its atomic power reactors do not face shortage of the crucial nuclear fuel.
"The reserve pool could be anywhere between 5000 MT to 15,000 MT which can last for 5-10 years," said a senior government official.
A proposal for stocking 5000 MT of uranium has been sent to the Cabinet for approval but the cap is likely to increase in the coming years.
Over the past one year, India has been pursuing its case to buy uranium from different countries including Australia and Canada. It is also procuring uranium from Russia for its indigenous reactors. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Kazakhstan last week, India renewed a contract with the Central Asian country to procure 5000 MT of uranium.
After Hyderabad another Nuclear Fuel Complex is coming up in Kota in Rajasthan, sources said.
"For all these years, we could not think of having a reserve like other countries have due to the impending sanctions. But now we can think of working to build a reserve of nuclear fuel.
"We are mostly depending on the uranium from Australia. Once we start getting it, we can start building the reserve. Uranium from Kazakhstan will largely meet the current demand. It is a rare commodity, so one should keep piling it whenever it is available at a cheaper rate in the international market," the official added.
Under the Indo-US nuclear deal, the latter is to support India?s initiative for having a nuclear pool. "The United States will support an Indian effort to develop a strategic reserve of nuclear fuel to guard against any disruption of supply over the lifetime of India's reactors," the agreement states.
Indian reactors had been "under-performing" as they did not get enough fuel from the outside world prior to the historic Indo-US nuclear cooperation agreement due to sanctions. However, since its inception, India has started importing uranium from Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and France.
In a major milestone, India this year registered a record production of over 1,252 MT of uranium, manufacturing close to double the annual fuel requirement of atomic reactors in the country. The production has far exceeded the country's annual fuel requirement of 650 MT for the Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs), which means the country has surplus nuclear fuel that will last several months.
Every 700 MW of reactor needs 125 MT of uranium every year. However, with the rising number of power reactors in the country, the demand is expected to rise. In the near future, two nuclear reactors of 700 MW each in Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) and Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) are coming up. Four atomic reactors of 700 MW each are also coming up at the Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana (GHAVP).
Fuel for Kudankulam plant in Tamil Nadu and Jaitapur in Maharashtra, coming up in collaboration with Russia and France respectively, will be made available by the foreign players.
"The Government has accorded financial sanction for two more projects namely Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana (GHAVP) Units 1&2 (2x700 MW) and Kudankulam Nuclear Power Projects (KKNPP) Units – 3&4 (2X1000 MW) with a total capacity of 3400 MW. These are being readied for start of construction in the current year," Singh said in a written reply to a query in the lower house of India's parliament.
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/business/2015072 ... z3gdnPrgQG