<div align="justify">
-The Times of India
</div>
<p align="justify">
&nbsp;
</p>
<p align="justify">
&nbsp;
</p>
<p align="justify">
<em>DURBAN: </em>India has decided to operationalize unit 1of the Russian-built Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu next month, finally getting past the psychological and political barrier it had faced post-Fukushima.
</p>
<p align="justify">
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh conveyed the breakthrough decision to President Vladimir Putin of Russia on the sidelines of BRICS Summit here on Tuesday. He also told Putin about the government's decision to build Units 3 and 4 of the plant, which had run into strong resistance from locals and People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy. &quot;I am pleased to inform the President that Kudankulam Unit 1 will be operational very next month. As far as Units 3 and 4 are concerned, we have to secure our internal approvals,&quot; he said.
</p>
<p align="justify">
While the Prime Minister did not mention Unit 2 of the power plant, Nuclear Power Corporation of India limited had earlier planned to operationalize it within six months of Unit 1 being commissioned. The significance of Unit 1 going on stream goes far beyond the 1000 MW it'll generate. It marks the end of diffidence around the country's nuclear programme because of safety concerns raised by the damage to the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan following the April 2011 earthquake.
</p>
<p align="justify">
The disaster and the threat of radiation hazard forced governments worldwide to take a close look at their plans to step up their nuclear energy programmes just when an era of nuclear renaissance appeared to be dawning. The Indian government, like many others, also decided to take a fresh look at safety of the plants, although Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had ruled out the rollback of the plan to augment nuclear power generation in a hurry.
</p>
<p align="justify">
Nuclear Power Corporation of India strengthened safety measures at the Kudankulam plant. But, this had failed to mollify locals and the anti-nuclear activists banded under the banner of People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE). The decisive move augurs well for the country's long-term plan to generate 20,000 MW nuclear power by 2020 as part of a larger plan to diversify the country's energy mix. The focus on nuclear energy is also because it is considered to be clean power, and the commissioning of the Kudankulam plant in the face of protests showed that the Fukushima scare has not altered the safety assessment.
</p>
<p align="justify">
Politically, the decision will help Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa. Although the AIADMK supremo is supposed to be on a strong political wicket, power scarcity across the state and the resultant popular discontent has emerged as a source of vulnerability. 
</p>