Kumar Sundaram | The passing year marked the 20th year of the May 1998 nuclear tests in Pokhran, the 10th year of the unprecedented exception from the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) that the Indian government achieved in 2008, and the last effective year of the ultra-nationalist Modi government as it enters its lame-duck phase early next year.

On 15th of December 2018, the State Pollution Control Board in Karnataka will organise a public hearing on the EIA report for the proposed expansion of the Kaiga Atomic Power Station by adding 2 more units of 700 megawatt each. Kaiga is situated in ecologically fragile region of southern India, and the nuclear power plant has impacted people’s safety, environment and livelihoods negatively since its operation.

Kumar Sundaram | Last month, it was reported that the government plans to cut nuclear capacity addition by two-thirds. These reports quoted a statement by Jitendra Singh, the State Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, which directly presides over the country’s Department of Atomic Energy(DAE). Most journalists and analysts highlighted a scaling down from the earlier announced projection of India generating 63,000MW by the year 2030 to 22,480MW in the same period, or roughly two-thirds.

Gopal Krishna | How much compensation should Indians get as compensation for nuclear damage—Rs 2400 crores Or Rs 7844 crores Or Rs 19,785 crores Or Rs 50,000 crores Or Rs 1.14 lakh crores Or Rs 6.4 lakh crores Or Rs 8.3 lakh crores Or Rs 60,000 crores?