New Delhi [India], April 2 (ANI): India has remained a reliable strategic partner of Russia traditionally and remembers the help Moscow extended to India in its toughest times in the past.

Chennai Feb 18 PTI The Tamil Nadu government on Friday opposed the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limiteds proposal to store spent nuclear fuel SNF at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant KNPP site and suggested it be sent back to Russia according to an earlier agreement or store it in an uninhabited area Chief Minister M K Stalin flagged the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a letter about the issue pertaining to the power plant located in Tamil Nadus Tirunelveli district Six nuclear power reactors of 1000 MW each are envisaged in this project Out of the six units 1 2 have already been commissioned while 3 4 are under construction and units 5 6 are yet to be established Stalin said The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd proposes to construct Away from Reactor AFR facilities in the nuclear power plant site itself for the storage of the SNF generated from all six reactors the Chief Minister said In this regard I wish to inform that when the Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change had earlier accorded permission to Units 1 2 the agreement was to collect and store the spent fuel temporarily within the units premises At Reactor and then send it back to the country of origin Russia he said However it was subsequently decided to store the SNF permanently in the AFR facility to be located within the unit premises This decision was taken without consulting the state government he said Stalin told the Prime Minister that there was deep concern and apprehensions among the people of Tamil Nadu including various political parties regarding the hazards and potential danger of the AFR storage facility of the SNF within the plant premises Several such facilities across the world have faced accidents leading to disastrous impacts on the environment and the people residing in and around such plants he said The local people are apprehensive of the fallouts and have been protesting against the AFR facilities within the complex Therefore I request that in the interest of public safety health and welfare of the people of Tamil Nadu action may be taken to transport back the SNF to Russia This must not only be for units 1 2 but also for the subsequent four units In case this is not a feasible option the spent fuel may be permanently stored in a Deep Geological Repository DGR in an uninhabited and ecologically non-sensitive area the Chief Minister told Modi PTI SA SA HDA HDA

New Delhi [India], December 16 (ANI): India witnessed a 40 per cent increase in nuclear power capacity grew from 4780 MW to 6780 MW in the last seven years, said Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Prime Minister's Office), Department of Atomic Energy.