India awaits Kodak moment at TN N-plant Power From Kudankulam By Nov-End

New Delhi: India is set to cross a major hump in its nuclear power programme with the Kudankulam plant expected to generate power within a month after it goes critical in the next 10 days. The first unit of the Russianbuilt nuclear plant is close to a landmark moment, after post-Fukushima public unease, powerful alliance of church groups and activists threatened to thwart India's ambitious plans to build 20 plants in the 12th Plan.      Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa is backing the project that will ease the state's power deficit. And after the Supreme Court's scrutiny of the $3 billion plant's safety features, the government is anticipating a Kodak moment when turbines begin to turn at Kudankulam.      Successful commissioning of the Kudankulam unit will help translate the promise of power into tangible benefits that the government hopes will help sway public opinion, particularly in the plant's neighbourhood. It will also pave the way for faster work on nuclear plants planned at Maharashtra's Jaitapur and Haryana's Fatehabad.      India hopes to generate 63,000 MW through nuclear power by 2032, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh giving a big fillip to the atomic component in electricity generation in the wake of the Indo-US nuclear deal and lifting of trade sanctions by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2008.      Apprehensions of the plant's environmental impact among local fishing communities will need to be further assuaged, but the plant is inching towards completion after activists, opposed to nuclear energy in totality, held the project hostage for months.  Liability law must meet global standards: US  New Delhi: The Indian nuclear liability law continues to cause problems, with the US saying that it does not meet "international practices". William Burns, US deputy secretary, told TOI, "As India moves ahead towards ratification, we believe it is important to try to ensure that India's practices are consistent with international standards. Again, that is not a favor to the United States or anyone else, because it is going to be in the self-interest of India's development in that field." TNN