New Delhi:

Lithium deposits have been found in the Mandya and Yadgiri districts of Karnataka, said Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Earth Sciences in Rajya Sabha.

The minister stated in a written reply that the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), a constituent unit of the Department of Atomic Energy, has found the presence of Lithium resources in the Mandya and Yadgiri districts, Karnataka.

He informed the house that AMD has established 1,600 tonnes (G3 stage) of Lithium resources in the Marlagalla area, Mandya district, and preliminary surveys and limited subsurface exploration have been carried out in the Yadgiri district to know about the deposits.

He also added that AMD is carrying out exploration for Lithium in the potential geological domains in parts of Korba District, Chhattisgarh. However, the major mica belts located in Rajasthan, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh and Pegmatite Belts in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Karnataka are the potential geological domains in the country for Lithium resources.

Singh shared that a preliminary survey carried out recently by AMD in Himachal Pradesh has led to the identification of surface uranium occurrence in Masanbal, Hamirpur district. He categorically mentioned that the Atomic Energy Commission has not conducted any study to establish an atomic energy plant in Himachal Pradesh.

According to the reply given by Singh in the upper house, the Department of Atomic Energy is taking note of the developments and recent trends worldwide in the field of small modular reactors. While the different technologies and designs of small modular reactors, as published by different countries and foreign-based vendors, are being studied for gathering technical details, no proposal to collaborate with foreign vendors/countries is under consideration at present.

He also shared that, at present, no private player has shown interest in producing a small modular reactor. However, a few private players have shown interest in deploying small reactors in their captive sites.

The minister also added that the Government of India and the Government of the Russian Federation have expressed interest in expanding cooperation in the field of the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, including cooperation in the field of Small Modular Reactors.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will carry out the first of several test flights ahead of the Gaganyaan mission on October 21, Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said on Tuesday.

The test vehicle development flight (TV-D1) will be conducted at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh to test the crew module that is scheduled to house Indian astronauts during the human spaceflight late next year.

The test involves launching the module to outer space, bringing it back to earth and recovering it after touchdown in the Bay of Bengal. The Navy has already started mock operations to recover the module, Singh said at a felicitation programme of the ISRO engineers involved in the Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya L-1 missions.

Along with the crew module, the TV-D1 will also test the “crew escape” system that is expected to bring back the crew to earth if the spacecraft faces a problem while ascending into space.

The success of the test will set the stage for the first unmanned “Gaganyaan” mission and ultimately, manned mission to outer space in a low-earth orbit, the minister said.

Before the ultimate manned “Gaganyaan” mission, there will be a test flight next year, which will carry “Vyommitra”, a female robot astronaut, he added.

The Gaganyaan project envisages a demonstration of the human spaceflight capability by launching a human crew to an orbit of 400 km and bringing them safely back to earth by landing in Indian sea waters

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Udhampur, Jammu And Kashmir:

Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said that the world is praising India for “taking the leadership role” and not following anyone’s footsteps.

“Today the world is praising India for taking the leadership role. The time has ended when India was expected to follow what other nations do,” Jitendra Singh told ANI Sunday.

Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi for leading India on the path of development, Jitendra Singh said, “People of the country understood that PM Modi has walked the talk and led India to the path of development. The Amrit Kal program today will set the tone for the next 25 years.”

On India’s achievements in the space sector, the Minister said, “We had no dearth of talent, of capability in our country. Our citizens, our scientists had the talent and the dream. We started our space program from the time we had less resources at our disposal. Vikram Sarabhai used to take things on his cycle since he had no car.”

Jitendra Singh also batted for the entry of private players in India’s space program, “After PM Modi came, private players came into being and industry was allowed to participate. During the launch of Aditya-1, we saw that though ISRO executed the mission several organisations across the country helped in making the mission successful, whether in manufacturing or technology.”

Earlier in the day, Jitendra Singh launched the ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ campaign at Tikri-1B Panchayat here, which is part of Amrit Kalash Yatras all over the country.

The Amrit Kalash Yatras include the collection of soil and rice from every household symbolising the participation of the people in the prosperity of the motherland.

During the inauguration, Jitendra Singh said that India’s recent space marvels have only been possible under PM Narendra Modi who has opened up new vistas for India’s space sector through the public-private partnership model and now the ‘sky is not the limit’ dictum has become true for India’s space sector.

The last nine years have witnessed a quantum jump in India’s space journey, making India standing at par with NASA, and Roscosmos, among others, which are now collaborating with ISRO for space expeditions, Jitendra Singh added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)