India gets first consignment of uranium post-NSG clearance

October 6th, 2009 MUMBAI - Private sector insurer Aviva Life Insurance can now collect its premium through the country's post offices. As per a nation-wide strategic agreement signed between the insurer and India Post, Aviva customers can make premium payments at any of the 8,294 computerised post offices across the country without any additional cost.

August 31st, 2009 CHENNAI - With the receipt of dummy fuel from Russia, India has moved a step forward towards commissioning the first unit of 2x1,000 MW Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tamil Nadu. IANS reliably learns that the dummy fuel landed in Tuticorin port Saturday and has reached Kudankulam where the Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL) is putting up the project with Russian equipment.

August 22nd, 2009 CHENNAI - India has received the first consignment of uranium for the second unit of the 2,000-MW Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tamil Nadu from Russia, a top official of the project developer has said. "This is the first consignment of the light enriched uranium for the second unit of the Kudankulam project.

August 12th, 2009 BHILAI - Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) is set to bag a 2,028-hectare block in the Rowghat iron ore mine deposits in Chhattisgarh to feed its flagship unit, the Bhilai Steel Plant, as it has obtained the final clearance from the environment and forest ministry. "Bhilai Steel has obtained the final clearance from the ministry early this month for the Rowghat project," an official told IANS Wednesday, adding that company had been seeking the deposit since 1983.

August 10th, 2009 BANGALORE - The Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Anil Kakodkar, has said that India is set to open new uranium mines and boost its nuclear power generation capacity, as the country's fuel supplies are expected to get a major push from international suppliers. Kakodkar told reporters here that the first consignment of 120 tonnes of uranium pellets has already landed in India, and the government is engaged in a dialogue with international vendor countries to get more such supplies.

August 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna today left on a five-day visit to Australia. While the issue of racial attacks on Indian students which grabbed international attention will figure high on agenda during his meetings with Australian leadership, highly placed sources have told ANI that External Affairs Minister will also try and convince Canberra to lift the ban on uranium exports to India.

July 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Many projects will no longer need environmental impact assessment (EIA) and clearance from the government, according to amendments to EIA rules proposed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh informed parliament Monday that the proposals included: * Threshold limits of construction projects (that require clearance) would be raised from 20,000 to 50,000 square metres * Modernisation and expansion projects without increase in pollution load would be exempt from EIA provisions * Prospecting of minerals would be exempt * Biomass based power plans up to 50 MW would be exempt Ramesh informed the Rajya Sabha in response to a question that the amendments envisaged more involvement of civil society groups in environmental clearance.

July 15th, 2009 RANCHI - Ranchi police have recovered a consignment of communication equipment meant for Maoists. The consignment was sent as cargo from New Delhi on a state-run domestic flight.

May 27th, 2009 JAMSHEDPUR - Residents of Jaduguda and nearby areas of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand staged a mass protest on Tuesday against the renewal of lease of uranium mining rights by the Uranium Corporation of India (UCIL). People protested on the sidelines of a public hearing of the UCIL held in Jamshedpur to discuss renewal of lease of mining areas in Jadugoda.

April 30th, 2009 COLOMBO - India Thursday handed over its second consignment of 900 tonnes of humanitarian relief assistance to the International Red Cross to be distributed among thousands of war-displaced civilians in Sri Lanka. India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Alok Prasad handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation a consignment of 40,000 family packs of humanitarian relief material intended for the internally displaced persons (IDP) affected by the ongoing conflict in the island's north.

March 20th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Despite the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) nod for the historic India-US nuclear deal, Australia, one of the world's largest producers of uranium, is unwilling to export it to India unless New Delhi signs the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the country's envoy says. 'The NSG decision cannot affect our policies and decisions.

February 4th, 2009 KOLKATA - India needs to import large amounts of uranium to meet its nuclear energy requirements till it fully explores its internal reserves, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) chairperson Anil Kakodkar said here Thursday. 'India's three-stage Nuclear Power Programme (NPP) is going on in a self reliant manner.

January 31st, 2009 AMRITSAR - Two Nigerian nationals were arrested in Punjab's Amritsar district Sunday in possession of five kg heroin, the police said. The Nigerians, Beleth and Emiko, were arrested following a trap laid by the Amritsar police near Rayya town, 40 km from here, on the Amritsar-Jalandhar national highway.

January 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - France-based Areva will deliver 300 tonnes of uranium to India, the first consignment of foreign nuclear fuel to reach the country in nearly 34 years, a top French government official said here Saturday. 'This is a very important symbolic gesture and we are happy that France will be the first country to give fuel to India in 34 years,' said Jean-David Levitte, diplomatic adviser to the French president.

January 4th, 2009 ABOHAR - The Border Security Force (BSF) recovered nearly 14 kg of heroin worth millions of rupees in the international market from the Abohar sector of the India-Pakistan border Monday. The drug consignment was concealed in packets, BSF officials said.