Nuclear Energy – Are You Clear?

When following some of the biggest news stories of our day, many times it so happens that the readers or the audience lose track of the real issues behind the stories. As the stories progress – or shall I say drag on – all they get to see on prime time television or read on front pages in the papers is a vicious string of denials, sound bytes, counter-charges, backtracking and other circuitous paths that lead them nowhere.

So it came as a welcome relief – though it increased my anxieties on other counts by highlighting certain things – when I read on rediff.com this well-argued piece by Kanchan Gupta about nuclear energy and its relevance to a country like India (Will nuclear power benefit the masses?).

Let me give you a glimpse into some of the startling data highlighted in the story: Contrary to Congress’s claims of nuclear energy having the potential to provide electricity to significant numbers of people, the share of nuclear energy in India’s total power output will be only 8% by 2020 if new reactors are set up. Compared to the cost of producing thermal power at Rs 2.50 per unit, that of nuclear energy will be Rs 5.50 per unit. No new reactor has been set up in the US in the past 35 years, and only one is coming up in Europe (Finland) after a gap of 17 years. Arguably, the ones to benefit the most from the 123 Agreement will be US and French firms dealing in nuclear reactors.

I’m not saying that one should switch over to the anti-nuclear agreement lobby merely on the basis of one article, but we need write-ups like this to make an informed opinion on matters concerning our country or the world in general – rather than be forced to confront mindless buck-passing by opposing parties through most of our media.