Highest priority to safety of nuclear plants: President Pranab Mukherjee

NEW DELHI: Seeking to allay fears over nuclear safety, government today said it has conducted technical reviews of all atomic power plants in the country.

"We have also conducted internal reviews of all safety systems of nuclear power plants in the country," President Pranab Mukherjee said in his address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament.

He said the government attached highest priority to the safety of nuclear power plants and was also working with the International Atomic Energy Agency on all nuclear safety issues.

Mukherjee said a Bill to set up a Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority has been introduced in Parliament.

He said two units of the nuclear power plant at Kudankulam, established with Russian collaboration, will be commissioned this year.

On initiatives to promote science, Mukherjee said a new Science, Technology and Innovation policy was unveiled by the government to accelerate the pace of discovery, diffusion and delivery of science-led solutions for faster, sustainable and inclusive growth.

"In order to popularise science education in schools, nearly 7.30 lakh scholarships have been awarded under a scheme called Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research," he said, adding about 48 per cent of the awardees are girls and 25 per cent belong to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

"A new PPP doctoral fellowship titled 'Prime Minister's Fellowship Scheme for Doctoral Research' has been implemented this year," he said.