The President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee attended the Graduation Function of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Training School at Mumbai today (November 15, 2013).
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that India has an enormous requirement of electrical power for accelerating economic growth for raising the living standards of the vast majority of our people. He said it is essential that we harness energy from all the possible sources, conventional and non-conventional alike, for ensuring sustainable energy security. The need for assured base-load energy availability throught the year in all regions across our large country makes nuclear energy an indispensable option in the energy-mix for Indian.
The President stated that indigenization efforts must continue even as we embrace nuclear power collaboration with our international partners in the wake of the civil nuclear initiative. He called upon the Atomic Energy community to gear up for the absorption of LWR technology, maximizing synergies across indigenous and foreign technologies so that nuclear power can be delivered affordably and safely to the Indian masses.
The President said that the recent launch of nuclear-powered INS Arihant bears further testimony to Indian nuclear defence capabilities. We need highly qualified and competent nuclear scientists and engineers, professionals in the areas of nuclear safety and security as well as a new generation of project managers.
This release issued at 2000 hrs