NPCIL asked to submit documentary evidence   If the commissioning of the first two units of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) has been stalled by protests from the locals backed by the State Government, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) is sweating it out with the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to obtain final clearance for units three to six (KKNPP 3–6). MoEF's Expert Appraisal Committee once again deferred...

-IANS   Activists continued to protest outside Tamil Nadu's Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) Friday, preventing employees of the plant from going inside to work.  For the past six days, 106 people have been on fast demanding scrapping of the nuclear power project. The relay fast is being held at Idinthakarai village near Kudankulam in the district, around 650 km from here.  Villagers have surrounded all the entry points to KNPP.  Around 25 employees, forming...

-The Hindu   Cautioning against keeping “high-investment facilities” idle, the former Atomic Energy Commission chief, M. R. Srinivasan, has sought a vigorous public relations push to counter the “misinformation campaign” against the Kudankulam nuclear project. Noting that there is some amount of misunderstanding in the minds of the people protesting against the project after the Fukushima accident in Japan, he said, “Safety is not in anyway compromised.” “The Atomic Energy Department, Nuclear Power Corporation...

-The Hindu   The government on Tuesday extended the terms of reference of the Nilekani task force on direct transfer of subsidies to include an Aadhaar-enabled unified payment infrastructure. Set up by the Union Finance Ministry under the chairmanship of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chief Nandan Nilekani in February, the task force was asked to recommend and implement a solution for direct transfer of subsidies on kerosene, LPG and fertiliser to...

-The Hindu   Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) V. Narayanasamy on Tuesday met those protesting for the past 10 days against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) and assured them that the safety and security of the people were paramount. “People's safety first and power generation comes later,” he told them at Idinthakarai in Tirunelveli district. Mr. Narayanasamy was deputed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to meet the agitators and...