The first results of Census 2011 put India's population at 1,210 million, indicating a demographic transition. CENSUS 2011 is the 15th one undertaken in India since 1872 and the seventh after the country attained Independence. While there have been stray historical references to population counts of one kind or another in earlier periods over much smaller territories within the territory that constitutes present-day India, the consensus view is that the...

The Jaitapur nuclear power project has drawn blood even before its boundary wall is ready. One person was killed in police firing on Monday, which by all accounts was unnecessary to disperse peaceful protesters. There was arson in Madban, at the site’s centre, which gutted some grass and a part of a tiny makeshift shed belonging to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India. The police went berserk and intruded into...

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Tuesday condemned the police firing at people protesting against the Jaitapur nuclear power project. It demanded adequate compensation for the kin of the deceased and those injured. In a statement, the party said the local people had opposed the location of the plant in their area and refused to accept the forceful acquisition of their lands. It said the Jaitapur project to be set...

The controversial 9,900 MW Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra will be implemented despite all hurdles, union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said here Friday. He said that whatever be the opposition, the government would go ahead with the JNPP, taking into consideration all aspects of environment and security norms. Ramesh was speaking at a press conference here Friday afternoon where he addressed several issues concerning his...

Marked 7 in severity and reclassified as a ‘major accident' The nuclear radiation crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in japan was reclassified on Tuesday as a “major accident” with the same worst-case rating as the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. However, japanese authorities quickly sought to reassure the international community about the continuing efforts to end the Fukushima crisis that was mainly triggered by natural disasters. Chernobyl, in contrast, was seen more primarily...