PM To Dedicate To Nation 2 N-Power Reactors; Kakrapar Plant 4 To Be Connected To Grid Soon

Home

National

PM To Dedicate To Nation 2 N-Power Reactors; Kakrapar Plant 4 To Be Connected...

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

India’s atomic power major Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) will soon connect its second 700 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) to the grid, an official said on Wednesday, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Gujarat on Thursday to dedicate to the nation the two 700 MW PHWRs at Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS).

Chennai, Feb 21: India’s atomic power major Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) will soon connect its second 700 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) to the grid, an official said on Wednesday, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Gujarat on Thursday to dedicate to the nation the two 700 MW PHWRs at Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS).

While the KAPS-3 has been synchronised with the grid, KAPS-4 will also be connected to the grid soon, an official told IANS on condition of anonymity.

With that, both the 700 MW PHWRs will supply power to Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa and the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

Starting commercial operations in July last year, the country’s first 700 MW PHWR (KAPS-3) generated 3,182 million units till January 2024 and is working at a capacity factor of 88 per cent, NPCIL said.

Prime Minister Modi will dedicate to the nation the two units that have been built at an outlay of over Rs.22,500 crore are part of the NPCIL's indigenously-designed and built 16 PHWRs being set up in the country.

Two more 700 MW PHWRs are coming up at the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) in addition to the existing four units of 220 MW, one of 200 MW, and another of 100 MW units.

At present, the NPCIL operates 23 reactors with a total capacity of 7,480 MW, and eight units with a capacity of 6,800 MW are under construction.

In addition, 10 more reactors with a total capacity of 7,000 MW are in a pre-project stage. These are expected to be completed progressively by 2031-32, the NPCIL had said.

The 10 reactors are: Rajasthan Atomic Power Project Unit 7 and 8 (2x700 MW, PHWRs), Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) Unit 3 and 4 (2x1000 MW, Light Water Reactors) and KKNPP Unit 5 and 6 (2 x 1000 MW, Light Water Reactors) and Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana Unit 1 and 2 (2x700 MW PHWRs).

(IANS)

BJP Approaches EC Over Sujata Karthikeyan's "Gross Misconduct for BJD's Electoral Gains" In Odisha

by Hemanta Pande

New Delhi/ Bhubaneswar, May 2: The central leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday approached the Election Commission here accusing Odisha’s Mission Shakti Department Secretary, Sujata Karthikeyan of “misusing” her position to mobilise women attached with self-help groups “for electoral gains" of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).

A delegation led by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi and senior party leader Om Pathak met the Election Commission and submitted a memorandum in this regard.

"Sujata Pandian, IAS, Commissioner cum Secretary, Mission Shakti, who is the wife of VK Pandian, also known as V Karthikeyan Pandian, is not only affiliated politically to the BJD, but also indulging in grave misconduct through misuse of authority, government machinery, and man power for influencing voters through 'SVEEP' for electoral gains of the BJD," the BJP leaders wrote in memorandum.

The BJP leaders alleged that VK Pandian, who also served as the Private Secretary to CM Patnaik for over a decade, wields considerable influence within the state’s administration.

“In November 2023, after taking voluntary retirement from IAS, Pandian joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party. He was subsequently appointed as the chairman of the state’s flagship programme- 5T transformational initiatives with the rank of a Cabinet Minister...His proximity to the Chief Minister as well as the BJD cannot be overemphasized,” the memorandum reads.

"With a view to preserve the unbiased and unblemished reputation of ECI, it would be the fitness of things to relieve Sujata R. Karthikeyan, IAS, from the post of Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Department of Mission Shakti, Government of Odisha and not assigned any public dealing duty till the conclusion of the impending Parliamentary and Assembly Elections in the State of Odisha" it says.

SVEEP is the flagship programme of the Election Commission of India for voter education, spreading voter awareness and promoting voter literacy in the country.

Assembly and Lok Sabha elections will be held simultaneously in Odisha in four phases, starting from Phase one on May 13, Phase two on May 20, Phase three on May 25 and the final Phase on June 1.

The results will be announced on June 4.

Read More National News

Covaxin Has Excellent Safety Record, Says Bharat Biotech

by Hemanta Pande

Hyderabad, May 2: Bharat Biotech on Thursday said that its Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin has an excellent safety record without any vaccine-associated incidents of blood clots, thrombocytopenia, TTS, VITT, pericarditis, myocarditis, etc, as it was developed with a single-minded focus on safety first, followed by efficacy.

The Hyderabad-based company issued a statement amid questions being raised in some quarters over the safety of Covid vaccines after global pharmaceutical manufacturer AstraZeneca admitted that its Covid vaccine Covishield, developed by researchers from Oxford University, can cause a rare side effect of blood clotting and low platelet count after immunisation.

As many as 175 crore doses of Covishield, developed by AstraZeneca and manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute, were reportedly administered in India.

Bharat Biotech mentioned that Covaxin was the only Covid-19 vaccine in the Indian government’s Covid-19 immunisation programme to have conducted efficacy trials in India.

"Covaxin was evaluated in more than 27,000 subjects as part of its licensure process. It was licensed under restricted use in clinical trial mode, where detailed safety reporting was carried out for several hundred thousand subjects," the vaccine manufacturer said.

The safety of Covaxin was also evaluated by the Ministry of Health.

"Ongoing safety monitoring (pharmacovigilance) was continued throughout the product life cycle of Covaxin. All the above studies and safety follow-up activities have demonstrated an excellent safety record for Covaxin without any vaccine-associated incidents of blood clots, Thrombocytopenia, TTS, VITT, pericarditis, myocarditis, etc.," it said.

"As seasoned innovators and product developers, the Bharat Biotech team was well aware that, while the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines may be short-lived, the impact on patient safety could last a lifetime. Hence safety is the primary focus for all our vaccines," it added. (IANS)

PM To Dedicate To Nation 2 N-Power Reactors; Kakrapar Plant 4 To Be Connected To Grid Soon

Download Mobile App