By IANS
Tarapur (Maharashtra) : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dedicated to the nation two state of the art Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) here Friday and stressed that India could not afford to miss the “nuclear bus”.
“There is today talk the world over of a nuclear renaissance and we cannot afford to miss the bus or lag behind these global developments,” Manmohan Singh said after inaugurating the two 540 MW reactors in Thane district, about 100 km from Mumbai.
“A strong nuclear energy programme is in our vital interest and is important for our scientific development, energy needs and security. It will add to our capabilities and strength as a nation,” said Singh.
He said it was crucial to pave the way for India to benefit from “nuclear commerce” without restrictions.
Present with Manmohan Singh on the occasion were National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan, Maharashtra Governor S.M. Krishna, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar and Nuclear Power Corp of India chairman and managing director S.K. Jain.