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...

The promised power from the Jaitapur nuclear project may light up the area, but Nandkumar Raut already finds the future dark. “Almost every family in the village has a police case against at least one member,” said the farmer from Madban, the village closest to the project site in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district. Raut said he has at least three cases foisted on him — one barring him from entering his own village...

From the Prime Minister down, WikiLeaks has exposed the rotten state of the world's largest democracy for all to see. Food prices become intolerable for the poor. Protests against corruption paralyse Parliament. Then a series of American diplomatic cables released by the WikiLeaks exposes a brazenly mendacious and venal ruling class; the head of government adored by foreign business people and journalists loses his moral authority, turning into a lame duck. This...

India's nuclear power growth must come from home-made heavy water reactors rather than foreign reactors using a variety of technologies in order to avoid Fukushima-style meltdowns, according to Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week, Mr. Ramesh communicated the concerns of his Ministry regarding the safety of nuclear power as well as the public perception of that safety. He argues that Indian regulators have expertise...

A group of citizens including several senior scientists has called on the Centre to review its nuclear power policy for appropriateness, safety, costs, and public acceptance, and conduct an independent and transparent safety audit of its nuclear facilities. The group, including P. Balaram, director of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, economist Jean Dreze, and A. Gopalakrishnan, the former director of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, has said that while this...