India, US agree to build six nuclear power plants in India
Washington, Mar 14: India and the US said they have agreed to build six American nuclear power plants in India, in a boost to bilateral civil nuclear energy cooperation.
The two countries said this in a joint statement issued at the conclusion of the 9th round of India-US Strategic Security Dialogue, co-chaired by Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and Andrea Thompson, the US under secretary of state for arms control and international security, on Wednesday.
"They committed to strengthen bilateral security and civil nuclear cooperation, including the establishment of six U.S. nuclear power plants in India," the joint statement said.
India and the US signed a historic agreement to cooperate in civil nuclear energy sector in October 2008. The deal gave a fillip to bilateral ties, which have been on an upswing since.
A major aspect of the deal was the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), that gave a special waiver to India enabling it to sign cooperation agreements with a dozen countries.
Post-waiver, India signed civil nuclear cooperation agreements with the US, France, Russia, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Sri Lanka, the UK, Japan, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan and South Korea.
On Wednesday, the United States also reaffirmed its strong support to India's early membership in the 48-member NSG. Notably, China has blocked India's pending membership to the elite grouping that seeks to prevent proliferation of nuclear weapons.
During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on a wide range of global security and non-proliferation challenges and reaffirmed their commitment to work together to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems and to deny access to such weapons by terrorists and non-state actors.
On March 12, Indra Mani Pandey, India's additional secretary for disarmament and international security affairs, and Yleem D. S. Poblete, US assistant secretary of state for arms control, verification and compliance, co-chaired the third round of India-US Space Dialogue.
The two delegations discussed trends in space threats; respective national space priorities; and opportunities for cooperation bilaterally and in multilateral fora.
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25 lakh properties in Bengaluru brought under e-Khata system: Shivakumar
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday said that the state government has brought over 25 lakh properties under the e-Khata system in Bengaluru.
e-Khata is an electronic property certificate that maintains ownership information in an online database.
The e-Khata initiative aimed to ensure accuracy, transparency and universal coverage for property owners, he said.
Addressing a press conference here, Shivakumar, who is also the Bengaluru in-charge Minister, said over 25 lakh properties are being brought under the e-Khata system. Of them more than 7,000 applications have been processed, and additional outreach measures being planned for those yet to obtain their e-Khata.
"Twenty five lakh e-Khatas is a great number which has created history," he said.
The Deputy CM said the government is ensuring that every e-Khata will have its GPS, the shape of the property, and the measurement with every photo and document.
He explained that the government is integrating Aadhaar details, digital documentation, GPS mapping and property sketches to create a robust database.
"We want to see that every record is filled right. They (officials) are asking for documentation, stamp, digital documents. We wanted to connect every Aadhaar card and have it online," Shivakumar said.
To facilitate access, the Deputy CM announced the opening of more than 50 centres across Bengaluru, many of them in government schools, where citizens can apply for or rectify their e-Khata records.
"All of them will be working this Saturday. This 'Khata Mela' will be done. It is 'Nanna Khata, Nanna Swathu'," he said.
Applicants whose documents require verification will be given an acknowledgement and asked to return after 15 days, during which officials will conduct site inspections, he said.
Shivakumar said the government has also taken steps to identify and reclaim properties recorded as roads in revenue documents, asserting that such lands belong to the government.
"We have decided through the law that all the roads in the revenue records have been taken out. Those properties belong to the government itself," he said.
He noted that the initiative has received recognition from the Union government. "The Government of India has awarded us. It said that it is the model for the entire country," he said, while thanking officials involved in the project.
The Deputy CM said the government expects around 10 lakh additional households to benefit from the drive and assured that even those who have not downloaded their documents will receive printed copies free of cost at their residences.
"We will see that all the 25 lakh people will get their e-Khata to their home free of cost," Shivakumar said.
On apartment properties, he said all flats that have obtained occupancy certificates have been cleared.
"All the 37,460 flats (who have applied for e-Khata) have been issued an occupancy certificate. We have cleared all of them," the Deputy CM said.
