India has improved procedures to deal with a nuclear emergency in the wake of the Fukushima crisis in Japan, the country’s atomic energy watchdog said Thursday, after criticism of its preparedness. Bajaj, on the sidelines of a nuclear energy summit in the financial hub Mumbai, said India’s nuclear emergency plan “was not that positive” in the past but added: “These weaknesses have been plugged.” MC Abani, a nuclear specialist at the National Disaster Management Authority, said six emergency exercises had been conducted at Indian nuclear power plants since March and procedures strengthened. “NDMA has raised 10 battalions of National Disaster Response Force. Each battalion has 1,150 soldiers and officers. They are trained in handling nuclear, chemical, biological and radiological incidents,” he said. India is increasingly looking to nuclear power to meet the demands of its fast-growing economy and burgeoning population as well as to provide energy security. India currently has 20 nuclear power plants, generating some 4,780 megawatts of power. Seven other reactors with a capacity of 5,300 megawatts are under construction. The government aims to increase nuclear output to 63,000 MW by 2032.
