Power India found that Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Ratan Kumar Sinha on Monday took charge as Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and Secretary in the Department of Atomic Energy from incumbent Srikumar Banerjee.
Sinha, a topper in mechanical engineering from Patna University who headed the reactor design group at BARC for several years, will guide the Indian nuclear sector in its next phase in which large indigenous as well as foreign reactors would be installed to rapidly ramp up India’s nuclear power generation capacity.
“My priority will be removing irrational fear about radiation from people’s mind as
nuclear energy will have a larger role in our growth,” Sinha told Deccan Herald over phone from Mumbai.
“In many of our rules, we do not factor well established scientific facts based on studies conducted at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We have restrictive and conservative rules. I want to have a look at all these rules with new scientific findings,” he said.
Sinha, who would be at the helm of affairs in the nuclear sector for the next three and half years said development of large commercial light water reactor and providing drinking water solution in villages using nuclear technology would be his other priority areas.
Asked about operationalisation of Kudankulam nuclear power plant, the new AEC chief said that the first unit might be operational within the next two months as work was progressing at a fast pace. But it will ultimately depend on the speed of regulatory approval from Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
Sinha joined BARC in 1973 and over the years was actively involved in designing new reactors. He guided research programmes for new advanced reactors for thorium utilisation and the futuristic Indian high temperature reactor intended for hydrogen generation.
As a part of his research work on reactor design, he led the project to design the compact high temperature reactor, which serves as a technology demonstrator for future high temperature reactors.
While Banerjee is likely to return to Kolkata after 45 years in the nuclear sector, the government may nominate Anil Kakodkar – Banerjee’s predecessor – in the Rajya Sabha. The official announcement, however, has not been made.
