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GS Paper: GS3-13.Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc:

  • India improves position in Henley Passport Index, 2021

    India now ranks at 83rd position in the Henley Passport Index, climbing seven places from 90th rank last year.

    Henley Passport Index

    • The Henley & Partners publishes the ranking and the Index of the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.
    • It was launched in 2005.
    • The ranking is based on data from the IATA (International Air Transport Association), a trade association of some 290 airlines, including all major carriers.
    • The index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations.
    • The data are updated in real time as and when visa policy changes come into effect.

    India’s performance this year

    • India is ranked at 83rd position and shares the rank with Sao Tome and Principe in Central Africa, behind Rwanda and Uganda.
    • It now has visa-free access to 60 destinations worldwide with Oman and Armenia being the latest additions.
    • It has added 35 more destinations since 2006.

    Global performance

    • Japan and Singapore has topped the list.
    • The US and the UK passports regained some of their previous strength after falling all the way to eighth place in 2020.
    • The passport of the Maldives is the most powerful in South Asia (58th) enabling visa-free entry to 88 countries.
    • In South Asia, Bangladesh (103rd) is ahead of Pakistan (108th) and Nepal (105th).
    • Afghanistan undoubtedly stands at the last rank.

     

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  • Preparing for a green energy shift in 2022

    Context

    Political leaders find themselves currently amid a messy reality. The seemingly “irresistible force” for clean energy has met, it would appear, the “immovable object” of an embedded fossil fuel energy system.

    Changes in the energy sector in 2021

    • Commitment to Net-zero: One hundred and thirty-three countries pledged to a “net-zero carbon emissions date” and most governments, corporates and civic entities have shown determination to “phase down” and eventually phase out fossil fuels from their energy basket.
    • Price volatility: The petroleum market seesawed and was expectedly volatile.
    • High price: Natural gas prices reached stratospheric levels as demand exceeded supplies and geopolitics compounded the imbalance. 

    Five trends that will shape the emergent energy landscape

    [1] Transition to clean energy will be long and expensive

    • Redesign and rebuilding: The fossil fuel-based economic system will have to be redesigned and, in parts, rebuilt for clean energy to achieve scale.
    • The process will take decades and require massive capital infusion.
    • No country or multilateral institution can finance this transition individually.
    • The world needs to collaborate: The world will have to collaborate and if it fails to do so, the financing deficit will push back the transition even further.

    [2] Fossil fuels will dominate the energy basket during the transition

    • Fossil fuels will dominate the energy basket during this transition phase.
    • Contributing factors: As has been the case so far, its market will be defined by the “fundamentals” of demand, supply and geopolitics and the “non-fundamentals” of exchange rates and speculative trade.
    • The price movements will be sharp, volatile and unexpected.

    [3] The resurgence of market influence of OPEC plus after private companies move beyond fossil fuel

    • The “ OPEC plus” will resurge in market influence.
    • The low-cost, high resource petrostates (Saudi Arabia, the Gulf nations, Iraq, Iran, Russia) will, in particular, gain greater control over the petroleum market as private companies move beyond fossils under pressure from shareholders and regulators.

    [4] Transition will create new centres of energy power

    • The Democratic Republic of Congo controls, more than 50 per cent of the global supply of cobalt; Australia holds a comparably large share of the lithium market; and China controls the mining, processing and refining of rare earth minerals.
    • It is difficult to tell how and when these countries will exercise their market power but it is clear that the “green transition” will create new centres of energy power.

    [5] Nationalism and political opportunism will influence energy policy

    • The US and China are currently embroiled in a “Cold War” over technology, trade, cyber issues and the South China Sea.
    • The US and China appear to be in a similar face-off. But that has not come in the way of their energy relations.
    • A few weeks ago, the two countries decided to coordinate the release of oil stocks from their strategic reserves to cool off the oil market.
    • The underlying reality is that national self-interest and short-term political ambition will be the defining determinant of future energy supply relations cutting across values and rhetoric.

    Suggestions for India

    • Nurture relations with traditional suppliers: India must assiduously nurture relations with our traditional suppliers of oil and gas.
    • It must not assume their role in the energy market will diminish.
    • Increase storage capacity of strategic reserves: It should accelerate the build-up of the storage capacity for oil and gas; the latter to hold strategic oil reserves, the former to store gas for inter alia conversion to blue hydrogen.
    • Ecosystem for search and development of minerals required for clean energy: It must create a facilitative ecosystem for the search and development of the minerals and metals required for clean energy.
    • Clean energy supply chain: It should create a “clean energy aatmanirbhar supply chain”.

    Conclusion

    The green transition must not lead to import dependency on raw minerals and manufactured inputs, especially from China. The current policy to incentivise the manufacture of semiconductors is a step in the right direction.

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  • Chisumle- Demchok: Worlds’ Highest Motorable Road

    Ladakh’s Chisumle-Demchok Road, when it crosses the Umling Pass, is now the world’s highest motorable road.

    Chisumle- Demchok Road

    • The project to build the road through the pass — a part of Border Roads Organization (BRO) Project Himank — had been completed in 2017, after which vehicles had started playing on the route.
    • The road is in south Ladakh. It passes through Umling La Pass, which is at a height of over 19,000 feet.
    • The height of the pass makes it the highest motorable road in the world, and was recently recognized as such by Guinness World Records.
    • The 52-km road ‘black-top’ tarmac road from Chisumle to Demchok betters the previous record of a road in Bolivia, which connects the volcano Uturuncu at 18,953 feet.
    • The road was built under extremely challenging conditions, as temperatures in the region can fall to below minus 40 degrees Celsius, and oxygen levels go down to 50 per cent below normal.

    Top of the world

    • At the pass, the road is higher than both the base camps for the climb to Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain.
    • The South Base Camp in Nepal is at a height of 17,598 ft, while North Base Camp in Tibet is at 16,900 ft.
    • The Chisumle-Demchok road is also higher than the Siachen Glacier, which is situated at 17,700 feet.
    • Khardung La in Leh, which at one time was among the highest roads in the world, is at an altitude of 17,582 feet.

    Military significance of the road

    • This road provides a direct route from Chisumle, which lies on the major road coming from Leh, Karu and Nyoma.
    • All of these stations have important military stations which are close to the Line of Actual Control.
    • Demchok has been an India-China flashpoint earlier, the site of a standoff between the two armies in 2016.
    • In the current standoff in eastern Ladakh, which began in May 2020, Demchok has come up as a point of contention.

    Other benefits offered

    • The new axis will be helpful for the armed forces, making it easier to mobilize troops and equipment, including rations.
    • The road will not only enable faster movement of armed forces to the region but will also boost tourism and improve the socio-economic condition of the local people in the region.

    Certain limitations

    • Since the road goes through such a high pass, road transport will be unfeasible during the winter, when the armed forces rely on air support.

     

     

     

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  • Places in news: Deucha Pachami Coal Mines

    Thousands of Tribals fear displacement following the implementation of the project to mine coals and basalts from the Deucha-Pachami coal block in West Bengal’s Birbhoom district.

    Deucha-Pachami Mines

    • Deucha-Pachami-Dewanganj-Harinsinga coal block is the second-largest coal block in the world; it is the largest in India.
    • It is located in Deucha and Panchamati area under Mohamad bazar community Development Block of Birbhum district, West Bengal.
    • The block has a thick coal seam trapped between equally thick layers of rocks, mostly basalt. It has a great economic value.
    • The existence of these thick basalt layers, however, makes mining of coal difficult; foreign investment and technology will be hence needed for mining.

     

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  • Status of 5G Rollout in India

    Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Pune will be the first places to get 5G services next year in 2022, informed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

    Must read:

    [Burning Issue] 5G Technology

    What is 5G technology?

    • 5G or fifth generation is the latest upgrade in the long-term evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks.
    • It’s a unified platform which is much more capable than previous mobile services with more capacity, lower latency, faster data delivery rate and better utilisation of spectrum.

    5G spectrum

    5G mainly works in 3 bands, namely low, mid and high-frequency spectrum — all of which have their own uses as well as limitations.

    (1) Low band spectrum

    • It has a great promise in terms of coverage and speed of internet and data exchange but the maximum speed is limited to 100 Mbps (Megabits per second).
    • So Telcos can use and install it for commercial cell phone users who may not have specific demands for very high speed internet, the low band spectrum may not be optimal for specialized needs of the industry.

    (2) Mid-band spectrum

    • It offers higher speeds compared to the low band, but has limitations in terms of coverage area and penetration of signals.
    • This band may be used by industries and specialized factory units for building captive networks that can be moulded into the needs of that particular industry.

    (3) High-band spectrum

    • It offers the highest speed of all the three bands, but has extremely limited coverage and signal penetration strength.
    • Internet speeds in the high-band spectrum of 5G has been tested to be as high as 20 Gbps (giga bits per second), while, in most cases, the maximum internet data speed in 4G has been recorded at 1 Gbps.

    Stipulated bands for roll-out

    • While the low band spectrum has shown great promise in terms of coverage and speed of Internet and data exchange, the maximum speed is limited to 100 Mbps (Megabits per second).
    • This means that while telecoms can use and install it for commercial cellphone users who may not have specific demands for very high speed Internet.
    • However the low band spectrum may not be optimal for specialised needs of the industry.
    • The mid-band spectrum, on the other hand, offers higher speeds compared to the low band, but has limitations in terms of coverage area and penetration of signals.

    Where does India stand in the 5G technology race?

    • Like other global players, India had, in 2018, planned to start 5G services as soon as possible, with an aim to capitalise on the better network speeds and strength that the technology promised.
    • India’s private telecom players have been urging the DoT to lay out a clear road map of spectrum allocation and 5G frequency bands.

    Issues in roll-out

    • Monopoly: One big hurdle, however, is the lack of flow of cash and adequate capital with some players due to an existing monopoly.
    • AGR dues: There is an ongoing dispute between the telecoms and the government mainly over the definition of Adjusted Gross Revenue.
    • Device upgrade: As far as commercial smartphones are concerned, some newer devices in the market claim to be 5G-ready but are much costlier.

    Why is there early roll-out in big cities?

    • Services penetration: One of the reasons why the bigger cities were chosen for these trials is their telecom services penetration, making it easier to convince more people to upgrade from 4G.
    • Cost management: Since the costs for 5G services are initially going to be on the higher side, it would be wise to test the service in areas where more consumers would find them affordable.
    • Testing ground: A third reason is that cities provide all kinds of locations, such as walled complexes and open spaces, that are suitable for testing of various 5G bands.

    What is the global progress on 5G?

    More than governments, global telecom companies have started building 5G networks and rolling it out to their customers on a trial basis.

    • South Korea: Samsung, which had started researching on 5G technology way back in 2011, has taken the lead when it comes to building the hardware for 5G networks for several companies.
    • USA: In countries like the US, companies such as AT&T, T-mobile, and Verizon have taken the lead when it comes to rolling out commercial 5G for their users.
    • China: In other countries such as China, some of the telecoms such as China Unicom had started 5G trials as early as 2018, and have since rolled out the commercial services for users.

    What changes for consumers with 5G?

    • One of the major changes will be in terms of rich experiences on their phones and other connected devices.
    • For instance, users will be able to stream videos with multiple camera angles during sports matches or even play immersive video games using VR headsets or other accessories.
    • This next-generation telecom network will also enable a mesh of connected Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled devices and services with zero-fail rate, as in the case of connected cars.
    • 5G could also draw high-speed mobile broadband connectivity to replace existing broadband services, especially in locations where these services are constrained, provided there isn’t a huge price differential.

     

    Try this question from CSP 2019:

     

    With reference to communication technologies, what is/are the difference/differences between LTE (Long-Term Evolution) and VoLTE (Voice over Long-Term Evolution)?

    1. LTE ‘is commonly marketed as 3G and VoLTE is commonly marketed as advanced 3G.
    2. LTE is data-only technology and VoLTE is voice-only technology.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below.

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”nqicad1d3m” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

     

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  • How the new Warehousing Policy will transform India’s logistics

    In order to reduce transportation and logistic cost, the union government along with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is working on warehouse policy.

    What are Warehouses?

    • A warehouse is a building for storing goods.
    • Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc.
    • They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities, towns, or villages.

    Objectives of the New Warehousing Policy

    • Logistics boost: The new policy is aimed at improving logistics throughout the country.
    • Supply chain management: The modern warehouses will house cold-storage chains and will be able to store all kinds of cargo—wet and dry.
    • De-congesting cities: These facilities are expected to come up outside city centres so that large trucks carrying the cargo do not need to enter the city to unload their goods.
    • Fuel efficiency: This will also help boost bulk carrying capacity and save fuel.
    • Curbing air pollution: The idea is to minimize pollution and traffic congestion in major cities.

    Who will frame and implement the policy?

    • NHAI: The policy will be framed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). It will also be the implementing agency.

    How?

    • Through Land Banks: There are land banks along the highways and expressways of the country with the NHAI.
    • PPP mode: Tenders will be floated for such land parcels, inviting private players to develop warehousing zones in PPP mode on a revenue-sharing basis or for a fixed fee.

    What will be the impact on logistic costs?

    • Logistics cost-saving: Warehousing zones will help cut India’s logistics cost, which is 14%-16% of gross domestic product (GDP), compared to 8%-10% of GDP in China and 12%-13% in the US.
    • Establishment of MMLPs: The warehousing zones and multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs) are being set up by the NHAI.
    • FMCG sector boost: This will help Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms,  steel and cement makers stock inventory near major hubs.

    How will MMLPs aid warehousing policies?

    • Integration of multi-modal transport includes the development of 35 MMLPs.
    • The MMLPs are aimed at fostering inter-modal connectivity through dedicated railway lines and access from highways to provide connectivity to an airport or a seaport or an inland waterway terminal.
    • The aim is to:
    1. Remove deficiencies related to logistics
    2. Draw the associated costs down, and
    3. Strategically integrate highway projects and other connectivity initiatives

    Why such move?

    Ans. E-commerce boom

    • The e-commerce sector has been driving the demand for logistics and warehousing across global markets.
    • It has emerged as the most prominent driver of Indian warehousing market volumes along with the third party logistics sector.
    • This sector’s share in transactions has grown from 18% in FY17 to 31% in FY21.
    • The Indian market is on the verge of its next phase of growth with domestic groups such as Tatas and Reliance entering the business.
    • Thus far, Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc. have driven the market.

     

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  • UDAN scheme

    PM launched the UDAN scheme nearly five years back with the aim to take flying to the masses. However, many routes have launched by airlines have been discontinued.

    UDAN Scheme

    • The Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme is a low-cost flying scheme launched with the aim of taking flying to the masses.
    • The first flight under UDAN was launched by the PM in April 2017.
    • It is also known as the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) as it seeks to improve air connectivity to tier-2 and tier-3 cities through revival of unused and underused airports.

    Working of the Scheme

    • Airlines are awarded routes under the programme through a bidding process and are required to offer airfares at the rate of ₹2,500 per hour of flight.
    • At least 50% of the total seats on an aircraft have to be offered at cheaper rates.
    • In order to enable airlines to offer affordable fares they are given a subsidy from the govt. for a period of three years.

    Present status of working

    • A total of nine rounds of bidding have taken place since January 2017.
    • The Ministry of Civil Aviation has set a target of operationalizing as many as 100 unserved and underserved airports and starting at least 1,000 RCS routes by 2024.
    • So far, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has awarded 948 routes under UDAN, of which 403 routes have taken off that connect 65 airports.
    • Out of the total 28 seaplane routes connecting 14 water aerodromes, only two have commenced.

    Issues with the working

    • Discontinuance: In reality, some of the routes launched have been discontinued as most of the routes awarded under UDAN are not active.
    • On-paper Ambitions: UDAN was expanded to provide improved connectivity to hilly regions and islands through helicopters and seaplanes. However, they mostly remain on paper.
    • The reasons include:
    1. Failure to set up airports or heliports due to lack of availability of land
    2. Airlines unable to start flights on routes awarded to them or finding the routes difficult to sustain
    3. Adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

    Various challenges

    • Lack of funds: Many small airlines await infusion of funds, to be able to undertake maintenance of aircraft, pay rentals to lessors, give salaries to its staff, etc.
    • Maintenance issue: Many players don’t have more than one or two planes and they are often poorly maintained. New planes are too expensive for these smaller players.
    • Availability of pilots: Often, they also have problems with the availability of pilots and are forced to hire foreign pilots which costs them a lot of money and makes the business unviable.
    • Competition: Only those routes that have been bagged by bigger domestic players such as IndiGo and SpiceJet have seen a better success rate.

    Way forward

    • The govt offers subsidies for a route for a period of three years and expects the airline to develop the route during this time so that it becomes self-sufficient.
    • Airlines need an extension of the subsidy period for their operational continuity.
    • Due to the rise in COVID cases, travel restrictions and passenger safety too needs to be taken into consideration in the loss-making of such airlines.

     

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  • [pib] Saryu Nahar National Project

     

    PM will inaugurate the Saryu Nahar National Project.

    Saryu Nahar National Project

    • The Project involves the interlinking of five rivers – Ghaghara, Saryu, Rapti, Banganga and Rohini to ensure optimum usage of water resources of the region.
    • It will benefit nine districts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh namely – Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Siddharthnagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Gorakhpur and Maharajganj.
    • The sub canals with a length of 6,600km have been linked to the 318km main canal.
    • The work on the project started in 1978 but due to lack of continuity, it got delayed and was not completed even after nearly four decades.

    Benefits offered

    • The project will provide assured water for irrigation of over 14 lakh hectares of land and benefit about 29 lakh farmers of over 6200 villages.
    • The farmers of the region, who were the worst sufferers of the inordinate delay in the project, will now immensely benefit from the upgraded irrigation potential.
    • They will now be able to grow crops on a larger scale and maximize the agri-potential of the region.

    Back2Basics: Sarayu River

    • The Sarayu is a river that originates at a ridge south of Nanda Kot mountain in Bageshwar district in Uttarakhand.
    • It flows through Kapkot, Bageshwar, and Seraghat towns before discharging into the Sharda River at Pancheshwar at the India—Nepal border.
    • Lower Ghaghara is also popularly known as Sarayu in India.
    • Especially while it flows through the city of Ayodhya, the birthplace of legendary Rama.

     

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  • Cabinet nods for Ken-Betwa Interlinking Project

    The Union Cabinet has approved the funding and implementation of the Ken-Betwa river interlinking project at the 2020-21 price level.

    Ken-Betwa Interlinking Project

    • The Ken-Betwa Link Project is the first project under the National Perspective Plan for the interlinking of rivers.
    • Under this project, water from the Ken River will be transferred to the Betwa River. Both these rivers are tributaries of the river Yamuna.
    • The project is being managed by India’s National Water Development Agency (NWDA), under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
    • Implementation of the project
    1. Phase-I: Daudhan dam complex and its appurtenances like Low Level Tunnel, High Level Tunnel, Ken-Betwa link canal and Power houses
    2. Phase-II: Lower Orr dam, Bina complex project and Kotha Barrage

    Utility of the Project

    • Irrigation: The project is slated to irrigate 10.62 lakh hectares annually, provide drinking water supply to 62 lakh people and generate 103 MW of hydropower and 27 MW of solar power.
    • Water supply: The project will be of immense benefit to the water-starved Bundelkhand region, spread across Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
    • Agricultural boost: The project is expected to boost socio-economic prosperity in the backward Bundelkhand region on account of increased agricultural activities and employment generation.
    • Addressing Rural Distress: It would also help in arresting distress migration from this region.

    Many hurdles

    • Submergence of critical wildlife habitat: The project will partly submerge the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh and affect the habitat of vultures and jackals.
    • Clearance: After years of protests, it was finally cleared by the apex wildlife regulator, the National Board for Wildlife, in 2016.
    • Water sharing disputes: Then UP and MP could not agree on how water would be shared, particularly in the non-monsoonal months.

    Back2Basics: River Interlinking in India

    History

    • The idea of interlinking of rivers in the Indian subcontinent is atleast 150 years old.
    • During the British Raj in India, Sir Arthur Cotton, a British general and irrigation engineer, first suggested linking the Ganga and the Cauvery for navigational purposes.
    • K.L. Rao’s Proposal (1972), which had 2640 km long Ganga – Cauvery link as its main component involved large scale pumping over a head of 550 m.
    • The Central Water Commission, which examined the proposal, found it to be grossly under estimated and economically prohibitive.

    Capt. Dastur Proposal (1977)

    It envisaged the construction of two canals:

    1. 4200 km Himalayan Canal at the foot of Himalayan slopes running from the Ravi in the West to the Brahmaputra and beyond in the east
    2. 9300 km Garland Canal covering the central and southern parts

    Beginning of implementation

    • The Indian Rivers Inter-link aims to link India’s rivers by a network of reservoirs and canals and so reduce persistent floods in some parts and water shortages in other parts of India.
    • The idea to link rivers got a shot in the arm with the establishment of the National Water Development Agency in 1982 by then PM Indira Gandhi.
    • The Inter-link project was split into three parts:
    1. Northern Himalayan rivers inter-link component
    2. Southern Peninsular component
    3. Intrastate rivers linking component

    Objectives of inter-linking

    • Connect the Himalayan and peninsular rivers via a network of canals so that
    • Excess water from one channel can be diverted to another which has an inadequate flow
    • Flood moderation in the Ganga-Brahmaputra system
    • Hydropower generation through excess water

    Prospects of River inter-linking

    • Engineering challenges: This is one of the most daring feats of engineering attempted in the history of mankind.
    • Ecosystem challenges: It is a reimagining of the entire aquatic ecosystem of a country as large and diverse as India.

    Advantages offered by river inter-linking

    • Flood control and mitigation: Problems related to flood control, irrigation, limiting droughts and boosting farm output—can be sorted out by linking the country’s rivers.
    • Economic boost: Potential benefits to transport infrastructure through navigation, as well as to broadening income sources in rural areas through fish farming.

    Issues with such projects

    • Migration: It will lead to massive displacement of people
    • Topography change: Since the Ganga basin topography is flat, building dams would not substantially add to river flows.
    • Inundation: The transfer of such enormous amounts of water will inundate forests and land for reservoirs.
    • Seismic hazards: The weight of billions of liters of water can have seismic implications in the Himalayan region.
    • Financial expense: River inter-linking is an expensive business from building the link canals to the monitoring and maintenance infrastructure.
    • Political will: Implementation of the project not only needs a huge financial capital but also political support both is scarce commodities as of now.
    • Consensus building for land acquisition: Another important issue is building consensus among states and Land acquisition.
    • Ecological feasibility: Once the project is implemented it would lead to large-scale displacement of people and animals.

    Criticisms of such projects

    • Bad Science: Such projects are built on bad science and an outdated understanding of water systems and water management.
    • Human determinism: Such projects go in contravention with natural process thereby generating more scope for threat than any opportunity.

     

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  • Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project

    If built on time, Jaitapur Project in Maharashtra would be the largest nuclear power generating station in the world by net generation capacity, at 9,900 MW.

    Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project

    • Jaitapur Project is a proposed nuclear power plant in India.
    • The power project is proposed by Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and would be built at Madban village of Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra.
    • It is being built with technical cooperation from France.

    Project description

    • It is proposed to construct 6 European Pressurized Reactors designed and developed by Framatome (former Areva) of France, each of 1650 MW, thus totaling 9900 MW.
    • These are the third generation pressurized water reactors (PWR).
    • The cost of building the plant is about ₹20 crore (US$2.7 million) per MW electric power compared with ₹5 crore (US$660,000) per MW electric power for a coal power station.
    • A consortium of French financial institutions will finance this project as a loan. Both French and Indian government will give sovereign guarantee for this loan.

    Issues with the project

    (I) Liability for nuclear damage

    • The lack of clarity on the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010 passed in Indian Parliament in August 2010 is a hurdle in finalizing deal.
    • This Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010 has a clause that deals with the legal binding of the culpable groups in case of a nuclear accident.
    • It allows only the operator (NPCIL) to sue the manufacturers and suppliers. Victims will not be able to sue anyone.

    (II) Clearance issue

    • Environmental effects of nuclear power and geological issues have been raised by anti-nuclear activists of India against this power project.
    • Even though the Maharashtra state govt completed land acquisition in 2010, only few people had accepted compensation cheques.

    (III) Seismicity of the area

    • Since Jaitapur is a seismically sensitive area, the danger of an earthquake has been foremost on the minds of people.
    • According to the Earthquake hazard zoning of India, Jaitapur comes under Zone III. This zone is called the moderate Risk Zone and covers areas liable to MSK VIII.
    • The presence of two major creeks on the proposed site has been ignored while clearing the site.

    (IV) Nuclear waste disposal

    • It is not clear where the nuclear waste from the site will be shipped for recycling or removed for disposal.
    • The plant is estimated to generate 300 tonnes of used nuclear fuel each year.

     

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