The International Organisation for Standardization (ISO)

The International Organisation for Standardization known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standard organisations.
Founded on 23 February 1947, the organisation promotes worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial standards. It is headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and as of 2013 works in 164 countries. It was one of the first organisations granted general consultative status with the United Nations Economic and social council.

ISO is the world's largest developer of voluntary International Standards. International Standards make thins work. They give world-class specifications for products, services and good practice to ensure quality, safety and efficiency. and because they are developed through global consensus, they help to break down barriers to international trade.
Since 1947, ISO has published more than 19500 International Standards covering almost every industry, from technology to food safety to agriculture and healthcare.

The organisation today known as ISO began in 1926 as the International Federation of the National Standardizing Association (ISA). It was suspended in World War II (1942), but after the war ISA was approached by the recently formed United Nations Standards Coordinating Committee (UNSCC) with a proposal to form a new global standards body. In October 1946, ISA and UNSCC delegates form 25 countries met in London and agreed to join forces to create the new International Organisation for Standardization the new organisation officially began operations in February 1947.

ISO membership categories:
ISO has 164 national members, out of 206 total countries in the world. ISO has three membership categories,

• Member bodies are national bodies considered the most representative standards body in each country. These are the only members of ISO that have voting rights.
• Correspondent members are countries that do not have their own standards organisation. These members are informed about ISO's work, but do not participate in standard promulgation.
• Subscriber members are countries with small economies. They pay reduced membership fees, but can follow the development of standards.

ISO is a voluntary organisation whose members are recognized authorities on standards, each one representing on country. Members meet annually at a General Assembly to discuss ISO's strategic objectives. The organisation is coordinated by a Central Secretariat based in Geneva.

Financing: ISO is funded by a combination,

• Organisations that manage the specific projects or loan participate in the technical work.
• Subscriptions from member bodies. these subscriptions are in proportion to each country's gross national product and trade figures.
• sales of standards.

A Council with a rotating membership of 20 member bodies provides guidance and governance including setting the Central Secretariats annual budget. The Technical Management Board is responsible for over 250 technical committees, who develop the ISO standards.

ISO has formed joint committees with the International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC) to develop standards and terminology in the areas of electrical and related technologies.

Nuclear Power in India - Part II

Nuclear power plants in India:
Currently, twenty-one nuclear power reactors have a total install capacity of 5,780 MW (3.5% of total installed base)

Power Station	Operator	State	Type	Units	Total Capacity(MW)
Kaiga	NPCIL	Karnataka	PHWR	220 x 4	880 MW
Kakrapar	NPCIL	Gujarat	PHWR	220 x 2	880 MW
Klpakkam	NPCIL	Tamilnadu	PHWR	220 x 2	880 MW
Narora	NPCIL	Uttar Pradesh	PHWR	220 x 2	880 MW
Rawatbhata	NPCIL	Rajasthan	PHWR	100 x 1 200 x 2 220 x 2	1180 MW
Tarapur	NPCIL	Maharashtra	BWR	160 x 2 540 x 2	1400 MW
Kudankulam	NPCIL	Tamilnadu	VVER	1000 x 1	1000 MW
			Total	21	5780 MW

The projects under construction are:

Power Station	Operator	State	Type	Units	Total Capacity(MW)
Kalpakkam	Bhavini	Tamilnadu	PFBR	500 x 1	500 MW
Kakrapar Unit 3 and 4	NPCIL	Gujarat	PHWR	700 x 2	1400 MW
Rawatbhata Unit 7 and 8	NPCIL	Rajasthan	PHWR	700 x 2	1400 MW
Kudankulam Unit 2	NPCIL	Tamilnadu	VVER	1000 x 1	1000 MW
			Total	6 Units	4300 MW

The planned projects are:

Power Station	Operator	State	Type	Units	Total Capacity(MW)
Gorakhpur	NPCIL	Haryana	PHWR	700 x 4	2800 MW
Chutka	NPCIL	MadhyaPradesh	PHWR	700 x 2	1400 MW
Mahi Banswara	NPCIL	Rajasthan	PHWR	700 x 2	1400 MW
Kaiga	NPCIL	Karnataka	PHWR	700 x 2	1400 MW
Kalpakkam	NPCIL	Tamilnadu	FBR	500 x 2	1000 MW
Kudankulam	-----	Tamilnadu	VVER	1000 x 2	2000 MW
Jaitapur	-----	Maharashtra	EPR	1650 x 6	9900 MW
Kovvada	-----	Andhra Pradesh	ESBWR	1594 x 6	9564 MW
Mithi Virdi	-----	Gujarat	AP 1000	1100 x 6	6600 MW
			Total	43 Units	36364 MW

Anti-nuclear protests: Following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, populations around proposed Indian NPP sites launched protests that had found resonance around the country. There have been mass protests against the French-backed 9900 MW Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project in Maharashtra and the 2000 MW Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamilnadu. The Goverment of Wst Bengal refused to a proposed 6000 MW facility near the town of Haripur that intended to host 6 Russian reactors.

Nuclear Power in India - Part I

Nuclear power is the fourth largest source of electricity in India after thermal, hydro-electricity and renewable sources of electricity.
India's first research nuclear reactor and its first nuclear power plant were built with assistance from Canada. The 40 MW research reactor agreement was signed in 1956, and CIRUS achieved first critically in 1960. This reactor was supplied to India on the assurance that it would not be used for military purposes, but without effective safeguards against such use. The agreement for India's first nuclear power plant at Rajasthan, RAPP-1 was signed in 1963, followed by RAPP-2, in 1966. These reactors contains rigid safeguards to ensure they would not be used for a military programme.

History: India's first research nuclear reactor and its first nuclear power plant were built with assistance from Canada. The 40 MW research reactor agreement was signed in 1956, and CIRUS achieved first critically in 1960.
India has been making advances in the field of thorium-based fuels, working to design and develop a prototype for an atomic reactor using thorium and low-enriched uranium, a key part of India's three stage nuclear power programme. the country has also recently re-initiated its involvement in the LENR research activities, in addition to supporting work done in the fusion power area through the ITER initiative.

The United States and Canada terminated their assistance after the detonation of India's nuclear explosion in 1974. India's domestic uranium reserves are small and the country is dependent on uranium imports to fuel its nuclear power industry. Since early 1990s, Russia has a major supplier of nuclear fuel to India.
India has signed bilateral deals on civilian nuclear technology cooperation with several other countries, including France, the United States, the Unites Kingdom, Canada and South Korea. India has also uranium supply agreements with Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Argentina and Namibia. An Indian private company won a uranium exploration contract in Niger.

South Korea became the latest country to sign a nuclear agreement with India after it got the wavier from the Nuclear Supplier's Group (NSG) in 2008. On July 2011 India and South Korea signed a nuclear agreement, which will allow South Korea with a legal foundation to participate in India's nuclear expansion programme, and to dis for constructing nuclear power plants in India.

Former Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, stated while he was in office, that "energy independence in India's first and highest priority. India has go for nuclear power generation in a big way using thorium-based reactors. Thorium, a non-fissile material is available in abundance in our country." India has vast thorium and quite limited uranium reserves.

C Radhakrishnan selected for Moortidevi award

Who: Malayalam writer C Radhakrishnan
What: selected for Moortidevi award 2013
Why: for his novel Theekkdal Katanhu Thirumadhuram

C Radhakrishnan, the eminent Malayalam scientist-turned-writer was selected for the prestigious Moortidevi Award for 2013 on 13 Jun 2014. He has been selected for his novel Theekkdal Katanhu Thirumadhuram.
The novel is biographical account of Thunchat Ramanujan, the person who is regarded as the father of Malayalam language. The novel is an attempt to bring back life to the socio-cultural ambiance of 15th century. Radhakrishnan as a person has also contributed to popular science and all branches of literature, mostly fiction.
Radhakrishnan is the second Malayalam writer to be awarded with the Moortidevi award. The first Malayalam author to win the award was Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri in 2009 for selected poems.

Moortidevi awards: Moortidevi award is presented by the Bharatiya Janpath and carries cash price of four lakh rupees, a plaque and a statue of goddess Saraswati.
The award is given in the memory of Moortidevi, the mother of Sahu Santi Prasad Jain, the founder of Bharatiya Janpith. It is given to contemplative or intellectual work created by any living author writing any of the languages enlisted in the 8th schedule of Indian Constitution including English, which underlines and expresses Indian philosophy and cultural heritage based on wider and human lives.