India to launch six nulcear reactors in next 2-3 years

New Delhi- India is expected to launch six more nuclear reactors in the next two to three years, a top government atomic scientist said here.

"Six more reactors are scheduled to be launched in the next two or three years," Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India R Chidamabaram said here while addressing the 25th Brigadier S K Mazumdar memorial lecture here.

Chidambaram said four reactors, including two units each in Kakrapar and Rawatbhata, are in an advanced stage of construction and will help in increasing the installed nuclear capacity to 7000 MW.

One of the reactors at the Kudankulam power plant in Tamilnadu is also expected to start functioning by the end of this year.

The reactor has been made with assistnce from Russia and will be inaugurated during the visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in December.

He said the government's vision was to reach nuclear power capacity of 63,000 MW by the year 2032.

"Of this, the contribution of reactors set up through international cooperation is likely to be about 40,000 MW," he added.

On climate change, Chidamabaram said the government is considering launching the ninth National Mission under the National Action Plan on Climate Change, which will look at the development of the Advanced Ultra Supercritical Technology (AUST) for coal-based power plants.

(PTI):, Oct 6,2010