India to set up an autonomous nuclear regulatory authority

• The government will introduce a bill in the nest session of parliament to create an independent and autonomous Nuclear Regulatory Authority of India that will subsume the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB)
• This was decided at a meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the current status of the 9,000 MW Jaitapur nuclear project and the impact of Japan's Fukushima atomic tragedy on India's nuclear programme.
• The meeting also decided to use best available expertise to ensure the highest levels of safety.
• The government will invite the Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) of the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA) to assist its own safety reviews and audit. Each of the six reactors in Jaitapur will have their own individual stand alone safety and operation systems
• The government has also decided that the initial results of the six safety review committees set up by the prime minister after the Fukushima accident in Japan will be made public and action taken on previous safety reviews will be put in the public domain.