The tragedy that Japan has just experienced is unprecedented and comes at a time when the ‘next in line’ countries especially India need to introspect on their nuclear policies. The West had always been keen to get India into the non-proliferation fold but in a dramatic show of sensitivity to India’s growth potential, the US signed a ’historic’ contract which would allow the US to enter a significant $150 billion market…the Indian civil nuclear energy market. It’s anybody’s guess why the US so avidly lobbied for India for the removal of the nuclear trade ban after China went aggressive on its own nuclear programme! I don’t blame the US for it nor do I intend to sound anti-capitalism…if not for the dire repurcursions that the Indian polity have conveniently chosen to ignore.

Let’s take a deeper look. As of today nuclear energy accounts for less than 3% of India’s power demand. This, as per experts should reach around 10% by 2013 and probably around 25% by 2050 thanks to an agressive plan of doubling the number of Indian nuclear reactors over the next 1.5 decades. While many may perceive this as yet another feather in India’s cap, a startling byproduct of this expansion plan is that India would almost entirely be in the radiation zone,  should a Japan happen in India. By the way…India has its own share of seismically sensitive zones which only increases the probability of….God forbid. In short…India has allowed the West to make money out of its own doom’s day!

What’s even more disturbing is the fine print of India’s nuclear civil liability bill which ridiculously states the following as a facade for the people to believe that foreign nuclear suppliers share the responsibility of a damage caused out of a nuclear accident. Enjoy this clause!

Section 17 says:

The operator of a nuclear installation shall have a right of recourse where —

(a)  such right is expressly provided for in a contract in writing;
(b) the nuclear incident has resulted from the wilful act or gross negligence on the part of the supplier of the material, equipment or services, or of his employee.

If you finished smiling at the jugglery of words, let me make the more obvious revelation that all responsibility can be shirked by the likes of GE, Areva or Westinghouse (the beneficiaries of the politics of nuclear power) through a carefully worded contract. That apart…would anyone ever put money on trying to prove a ‘wilful act of gross negligence’ in a court of law??

So what could the strategy be? Thankfully we do not have a dirth of options. Below are a few.

  • Plug the leaks: 25%-30% of the power actually created by India’s power plants (nuclear and non-nuclear) never reach the consumer. India’s power problems would diminish by more than half just by investing in bringing these transmission losses to a single digit percentage. Mind you..this investment is miniscule to what has been planned for nuclear expansion!
  • Harness and Promote Alternative Sources of Energy: Solar and wind power have great prospects in India but there is negligible funding towards research in this direction. The reason is simple…there is more money in tickling the ‘next in line’ countries to achieve nuclear stardom. In fact it would not be an overstatement if I said that the powerful nuclear companies stiffle the smaller and budding companies in the ‘Alternative Energy’ segment of business through not-so-fair means in the global market!
  • Decentralize Generation Infrastructure: This not only limits the extent of unavailability in the wake of a failure but also brings down transmission losses.
  • Invest in Energy Efficient Public Infrastructure: Investment in ensuring energy efficiency in public offices and infrastructure would go a long way as well.

Wake up India!