India Prez Advances River-Link Project

[Guest guest]

Kalam wants big push to river linking project

 

Press Trust of India

 

New Delhi, August 14, 2005

With the devastation caused by the recent floods in Maharashtra and

other states fresh in memory, President APJ Abdul Kalam on Sunday

said the ambitious project of interlinking of rivers should be

implemented with a "sense of urgency" and efforts should be made to

overcome "various hurdles" in its way.

 

Addressing the nation on the eve of 59th Independence Day, the First

Citizen stressed the need for achieving "Energy Independence" by

evolving a comprehensive renewable energy policy and accelerating

research for forecasting earthquakes.

 

"While we are celebrating 59th anniversary of our hard-earned

political independence, we have to remember the sufferings of our

people affected by the recent rains and floods in Maharashtra,

Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Orissa,"

Kalam said in the address which entirely focussed on science and

technology aspects.

 

Reminding that Mumbai and other areas of Maharashtra had borne the

brunt of nature's fury, he said "rainfall and floods are annual

features in many parts of the country."

 

He emphasised that "instead of thinking about interlinking of rivers

only at times of flood and drought, it is time that we implement this

programme with a great sense of urgency.

 

"We need to make an effort to overcome various hurdles in our way to

the implementation of this major project. I feel that it has the

promise of freeing the country from the endless cycle of floods and

droughts."

 

Pointing out that earthquakes were another natural phenomenon that

affects and causes damages of high magnitude without pre-warning in

many parts of the country, the renowned Scientist-President said

there was a need to "accelerate research" for forecasting quakes.

 

Research work on earthquake forecasting is being done in many

countries, Kalam said, adding in India also there should be an

integrated research team consisting of experts drawn from academia,

meteorology and space departments for creating earthquake forecast

modelling using pre-earthquake and post-earthquake data collected

from various earthquake occurrences in the country.

 

This can be validated periodically with the proven forecasting data

available from other countries, he said.

 

Kalam noted that in the wake of successive calamities driven by

nature across the world, many countries have started pursuing inter-

disciplinary area of research, known as Earth Systems Science.

 

It, he said, is fast emerging as an area of convergence between

earth, climate, ocean, environment, instrumentation and computer

sciences.

 

"I strongly suggest that India should mount a programme in this

emerging area of Earth Systems Science. This will call for a

dedicated, cohesive and seamless integration between researchers in

multiple areas an in multiple organisations," he said.

 

Delving upon the issue of energy, Kalam said: "Energy Independence"

has to be India's "first and highest priority" and the country must

be determined to achieve this within the next 25 years.

 

"This one major 25-year national mission must be formulated, funds

guaranteed and leadership entrusted without delay as public-private

partnerships to our younger generation, now in their 30's, as their

lifetime mission in a renewed drive for nation-building," the

President said.

 

Noting that India has 17 per cent of the world's population but just

0.8 per cent of the world's known oil and natural gas resources, he

emphasised the need for developing "energy security", considering it

is the lifeline of modern societies.

 

"Energy security, which means ensuring that our country can supply

life-line energy to all its citizens, at affordable costs at all

times, is thus a very important and significant need and is an

essential step forward," he said.

 

"But it must be considered as a transition strategy to enable us to

achieve our real goal, that is Energy Independence or an economy

which will function well with total freedom from oil, gas or coal

imports," Kalam said.

 

He underlined that the strategic goals for energy independence by

2030 would call for a shift in the structure of energy sources.

 

"For true energy independence, a major shift in the structure of

energy sources from fossil to renewable energy sources is mandated,"

he said.

 

The President said the country needed to critically look at the

requirement for energy independence in different ways in two major

sectors -- electric power generation and transportation.

 

He emphasised the greater need for tapping energy sources such as

solar and nuclear energy besides generating power from municipal

wastes.

 

By 2030, Kalam said, the demand from the power sector will increase

to 400,000 MW from existing 120,000 MW, assuming an energy growth

rate of five per cent per annum.

 

At present, the country has an installed capacity of about 121,000 MW

of electricity, which is three per cent of the world capacity, Kalam

said adding the country also depends on oil to the extent of 114

million tonnes every year, 75 per cent of which is imported and used

almost entirely in the transportation sector.

 

He said electric power generation in the country at present accesses

four basic energy sources -- fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas

and coal; hydroelectricity; nuclear power and renewable energy

sources as bio-fuels, solar, biomass, wind and ocean.

 

On using nuclear energy sources, the President said there would be a

requirement for a 10-fold increase in nuclear power generation even

to attain a reasonable degree of energy self-sufficiency for the

country.

"Therefore, it is essential to pursue the development of nuclear

power using thorium, reserves of which are higher in the country," he

said.

 

Kalam said technology development has to be accelerated for thorium-

based reactors since the raw material for thorium is abundantly

available in the country.

 

Nuclear fusion research, he said, also needs to be progressed with

international cooperation to keep the option for meeting the large

power requirement at a time when fossil fuels get depleted.

 

Referring to generating power from municipal wastes, he said studies

indicate that as much as 5800 MW of electricity can be generated by

setting up 900 plants spread over different parts of the country.

 

"Electric power generation and creation of clean environment are the

twin advantages," the President said.

 

Describing transportation sector as the fastest growing energy

consumer, he said it consumes nearly 112 million tonnes of oil

annually and is critically important for the nation's economy and

security.

 

"The complete substitution of oil imports for the transportation

sectors is the biggest and toughest challenge for India," he said.

 

Kalam said bio-fuel also has a significant potential to lead the

country towards energy independence, noting that India has the

potential to produce nearly 60 million tonnes of this energy source

annually.

 

"What is needed is a full economic chain from farming, harvesting,

extraction to esterification, blending and marketing," he said.

 

The President said by 2020, India should achieve comprehensive energy

security through enhancement of our oil and gas exploration and

production worldwide.

 

By year 2030, the country should achieve energy independence through

solar power and other forms of renewable energy, maximise the

utilisation of hydro and nuclear power and enhance bio-fuel

production through large-scale energy plantations like Jatropha, he

said.

 

"We need to evolve a comprehensive renewable energy policy for energy

independence within a year," he said adding it should address all

issues relating to generation of energy through wind, solar,

geothermal, biomass and ocean.

 

"Energy security leading to energy independence is certainly possible

and is within the capability of the nation," he said.

 

India has knowledge and natural resources and "what we need is

planned integrated missions to achieve the target in a time-bound

manner," Kalam added.