NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has succeeded in getting the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agree to the state’s high-end infrastructure dreams of having a high-speed rail corridor and railway coach factory. Chandy was here on a day’s visit with a long itinerary which included meeting the Prime Minister, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi.

Japan's nuclear watchdog on Wednesday postponed the completion of its review on stress tests on the first pair of dozens of idled reactors, an initial step in rebuilding public trust in atomic energy after the worst nuclear accident in 25 years.

Only three of Japan's 54 reactors are online 11 months after a major earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Many have been stopped for regular maintenance, during which utilities are conducting stress tests.

Bringing some degree of clarity to the negotiations on the proposed Jaitapur nuclear power plant, France said construction of the European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) plant could start in less than a year’s time. Following the Fukushima nuclear accident and protests at Jaitapur, signing of a commercial agreement between French company Areva and India’s NPCIL was stalled.

The United States remained the primary backer of biotech crop technology in 2011, but adoption spread internationally as the total global planted area of genetically modified seeds grew 8 percent from a year ago, according to a report issued Tuesday.

Roughly 160 million hectares, or 395.2 million acres, were planted with biotech crops in 2011, up 8 percent from 2010, said the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) in its annual report on biotech seed use.

The government of Japan has decided to extend financial support of $96,660 (approximately Rs 8.3 million) to NGO RORWALI for the construction of Concrete Irrigation Channel in Village Thakhtabad, Peshawar, said a press release issued here on Monday.

The agreement for the project was signed between Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan Hiroshi OE and RORWALI Chairman, Shabbir Ahmad Khan here at the ambassador's residence.

The project is expected to benefit about 1,300 households (approximately 13,000 individuals).

CHENNAI: In a move that could end the impasse over the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP), Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Saturday announced that an expert committee would be constituted by the State government to study the safety aspects of the plant as well as allay fears of locals about the project.

Replying to the discussion on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s address in the Assembly, she said that the committee would submit its report to the government at the earliest and based on that, further course of action would be decided.

Leaks of radioactive water have become more frequent at Japan’s crippled nuclear power plant less than two months after it was declared basically stable.

The problem underlines the continuing challenges facing Tokyo Electric Power Company as it attempts to keep the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant under control. A massive earthquake and tsunami badly damaged the plant last March, resulting in the melting of three reactor cores.

Gangtok, Feb. 3: The Sikkim forest department will receive Rs 13.12 crore from a Japanese government agency to rebuild the infrastructure damaged in last year’s earthquake. The amount has been sanctioned by the Japanese International Co-operation Agency that is funding a project to ensure alternative livelihood for people living on forest fringes in Sikkim. The release of the amount was announced by JICA representative Vineet Sarin during a review of the Sikkim Biodiversity Conservation and Forest Management Project (SBFP) here today.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is selling its second Water Bond to Japanese investors to help finance its work in the water sector.

The Water Bond, denominated in Turkish lira, will be issued in February. ADB will provide assistance in an amount at least equal to the net proceeds of the bond to water-related projects in the region, such as new water supply systems in urban areas, major rehabilitation of existing irrigation systems, and investment in wastewater management.

Japanese governor Tokihiro Nakamura believes nuclear power is vital for the resource-poor land, but even he says the central government must put safety pledges in writing before he'll agree to restart off-line reactors -- a sign of the tough battle ahead to repair tattered public trust after the Fukushima crisis.

The myth that nuclear power was cheap, clean and safe was shattered when a March quake and tsunami triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years at Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima plant, spewing radiation and forcing mass evacuations.