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India today said that it attaches “the highest priority” to the safety of its nuclear plants and will invite experts from the IAEA to assist it in reviewing and enhancing their operational safety performance.
“Our nuclear safety track record has been impeccable over 345 reactor years of operation but we recognise the importance of continuous improvement and innovation in our nuclear safety standards and practices covering the entire range of activities — citing, design, construction, operation and upgradation,” Member of Parliament, Mr Prem Chand Gupta, said in his address to the UN General Assembly session on annual report of the IAEA.
He said the Indian government has underscored that safety of the country’s nuclear plants “is a matter of the highest priority’’.
The various measures taken by the government for nuclear safety include introduction of a bill in Parliament to change the functional status of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board to a “de-jure independent Nuclear Regulatory Authority’’.
In addition, six safety review committees have looked into various aspects of nuclear safety.
“India will invite the Operational Safety Review Teams of IAEA to assist in its own safety reviews and audit. All reactors, whether indigenous or imported will, without exception, meet the enhanced safety standards,” Mr Gupta added.
India is also putting increased focus on emergency preparedness and response to a nuclear accident beyond the design basis accidents.
“India supports the work of IAEA and from this perspective has cosponsored the draft resolution on the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency,” he said.
In the wake of the Fukushima nuclear incident, India said the world nuclear community has to take necessary measures to address the concerns of public about safety of nuclear power plants.
“Nuclear safety should be seen not as a static but as a continuously evolving process,” he said.
It is also important that the IAEA takes all necessary measures to allay apprehensions in the public and among member states about the safety of nuclear power plants, taking into account the current advances in design and technology.
Mr Gupta said India views nuclear energy as an essential element of its national energy basket and the country is committed to taking forward its three-stage nuclear programme based on a closed fuel cycle.
India envisages scaling up nuclear energy production to 20,000 MW by 2020 and 60,000 MW by 2030.
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