The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Wednesday reviewed the country's disaster preparedness in the wake of recent nuclear incident in Japan. He directed the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) to upgrade the safety measures in the light of the Fukushima disaster in Japan and look at “beyond-design-basis accidents”.
As Chairman of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Dr Singh reviewed the safety measures being undertaken by the DAE, AERB, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd.
The meeting, which took place at the PM's residence, was attended by senior Ministers, nuclear scientists and disaster management authorities. “There are many in-built mechanisms in the nuclear projects to avoid any disaster… However, we have to take more steps to strengthen our preparedness to deal with any emergency,” the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Vice-Chairman, Mr M. Shashidhar Reddy, told reporters here after the meeting.
Those present in the meeting included Home Minister Mr P. Chidambaram; Agriculture Minister Mr Sharad Pawar; Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia; Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Mr V. Narayanasamy, and Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Mr Srikumar Banerjee, who made a presentation on the safety measures of nuclear plants.