India, Russia to re-examine safety standards at N-plants

India and Russia have agreed to the need for re-examining safety standards for all nuclear power plants in the wake of recent accidents that took place in the Fukushima reactors in Japan after they were hit by an earthquake and tsunami last month.

At a bilateral meeting between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here today, the two leaders reviewed the recent events in Japan and reiterated the need for ensuring nuclear safety and international efforts to tighten such safety norms.

The discussion also covered the areas of economic co-operation between India and Russia in the hydrocarbons sector. While Russia was a major oil producer, Indian oil majors had a significant presence in Russia and are keen on expanding that.

The two leaders also discussed co-operation in science and technology and expressed satisfaction over the growing ties between the two countries. Both the leaders were convinced there was a need to take this process forward and expand the current level of economic co-operation to new areas.