Tawanai

The Water and Power Ministry has received an appalling 15.6 percent of total budgetary allocation for the first quarter of the current year, an amount that flagrantly disregards the critical contribution of this ministry to not only national output, but also to serious issues of households-related to water and power deficiency in the country.

The Finance Ministry provided Rs 2.8 billion during the first quarter (July-September) of 2009-10 financial year to the Water and Power Ministry as against the total committed quarterly allocation, amounting to Rs 17.85 billion. During three-day PSDP review meeting held recently, the Finance Ministry gave top priority to the Ministries of Petroleum and Natural Resources, Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA), Ports and Shipping, Communication, Population, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) and Health Ministry.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources received 85 percent of the budgetary allocations, amounting to Rs 170 million as against the request of Rs 200 million in the first quarter.

The Finance Ministry gave second priority to Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA), which received 75.1 percent of the committed funds, amounting to Rs 82.5 million as against the committed amount of Rs 109.8 million in the first quarter. The Ministry of Ports and Shipping received 72.2 percent fund releases, amounting to Rs 16 million as against the requirement of Rs 22 million in the first quarter.

Via Business Recorder

Economics, Electricity, Energy, Nuclear, Oil, Pakistan, Petrol, Water, power

As reported by WSJ, India is poised for a big increase in its civilian nuclear capabilities.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday stressed the importance of nuclear energy in bridging the country’s yawning energy gap, as Indian and international companies line up to enter a market opened by last year’s U.S.-India nuclear deal.

Addressing a function in New Delhi to honor Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of International Atomic Energy Agency, Mr. Singh said India is geared up for a major expansion of its nuclear program “in which international cooperation will be an important component.”

“Nuclear energy is vital to meeting our energy and developmental needs, particularly those of large, developing countries like India,” Mr. Singh said.

Of India’s total installed generating capacity of 152,000 megawatts, nuclear energy makes up some 2.7% of that capacity, or 4,100 megawatts, says India’s ministry of power. India currently has 17 nuclear power plants and is building an additional six.

The global Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2008 lifted its ban on selling nuclear fuel to India, and, as a result, nuclear power is expected to rise to 40,000 megawatts of installed generating capacity by 2020.

The lifting of the ban was part of the negotiations undertaken by the U.S. and India to reach a new deal on the transfer of civilian nuclear technology. The deal, signed in October 2008, ended a 34-year U.S. moratorium on nuclear trade with India following India’s first nuclear tests in 1974.

These developments have opened the door for overseas companies such as GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Westinghouse Electric Co. and Areva SA to sell reactor technology and fuel to India at a time when the country is fast increasing its power-generation capacity to meet a huge gap in supply and demand. (GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy is a joint venture between General Electric Co. and Hitachi Ltd.)

Mr. Singh said at a conference in New Delhi on Tuesday that the Indian government’s nuclear strategy could potentially yield 470,000 megawatts of power by the year 2050. “This will sharply reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and will be a major contribution to global efforts to combat climate change,” he said .

On Wednesday, India’s Hindustan Construction Co. and Amec PLC, a U.K.-based engineering and project-management company, signed an initial agreement for taking on nuclear power projects in India. The venture with AMEC will focus on consulting services and subcontracting operations, said Vinayak Deshpande, president of Hindustan Construction. He said the company expects to eventually employ as many as 500 engineers.

Also, “we expect six nuclear reactors to come up for bidding in the next 15 months, and we hope to get a sizable portion of orders from these projects,” Mr. Deshpande added.

Indian engineering and construction companies such as Larsen & Toubro Ltd. and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. also are eager to tap into nuclear power projects.

Clean Technology, Consumers, Electricity, Energy, Nuclear, power India