BackSurvey favours private investment in nuclear power
Survey favours private investment in nuclear power
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New Delhi: The Economic Survey has favoured private sector investment in nuclear power generation. “Reducing incremental import dependence of the country’s energy requirement in the medium to long term entails a number of measures," the survey said, listing the exploitation of the nuclear potential for power generation as a key point. However, it said, “permit private corporate investment in nuclear power, subject to regulation by AERB (Atomic Energy Regulatory Board) and AEC (Atomic Energy Commission)."
Nuclear plants in the country can only be set up by the Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd—a public sector undertaking which spearheads India’s nuclear power programme. However, this is expected to change after the India-US civilian nuclear deal is sealed. Staff Writer
Rly revenue-earning freight growth slows
New Delhi: The Indian Railways’ revenue-earning freight traffic grew by 8.2% during April-November 2007, compared with 9.19% in the year-ago period.
The percentage change in loading of iron ore was 34% in 2007-08 against -5.8% during April-December last year. There was a dip in the loading of foodgrain which was -11.8% this year against a growth of 0.5% last year. Staff Writer
Accreditation must for bus body builders
New Delhi: The department of road transport and highways has notified rules for accreditation of bus body builders to bring in uniformity in bus body designs and to enhance safety of passengers.
Bus body builders would now have to be accredited at zonal and national levels and only the approved builders would be allowed to build bus bodies. The new rules are expected to come into effect from 23 March. The Centre has also proposed to provide funds to the states to improve their public transport systems. Staff Writer
Mechanism to?monitor electricity scheme
New Delhi: The Economic Survey has announced that a three-tier mechanism is being set up to monitor implementation of the “Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana" (RGGVY), an ambitious programme which seeks to give electricity access to all households. It said the mechanism is being established at the state, Rural Electrification Corp. Ltd and Union power ministry levels, with random inspections by independent agencies. Staff Writer
Power sector growth slips in Apr-Dec 07
New Delhi: Even though power shortages have been identified as one of the bottlenecks threatening the country’s ability to sustain a 9% growth rate, electricity generation recorded a decelerated growth at 6.6% during April-December 2007, against 7.5% in the year-ago period.
“The growth in output of infrastructure sector and its capacity, particularly power, has been relatively modest as compared to the robust performance in manufacturing and services," the Economic Survey said. Staff Writer
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