‘Nuclear energy is safest way of getting sustainable energy’

MANGALURU President of Indian National Academy of Engineering J. D. Patil said on Saturday that nuclear energy is the safest way of getting sustainable energy. Delivering the 24th convocation address at the National Institute of Technology – Karnataka (NIT-K) at Surathkal, he said that most sustainable form of green energy is not the solar and the wind. “They (solar and wind) are low hanging fruit but are seasonal,” he said.

Mr. Patil said that one of the largest deposits of thorium is in India. One of the biggest focus of the research at the Indian National Academy of Engineering now is on how to start using the thorium. He said India’s economy is set to grow several-fold over the next 20 years, and that engineers will make the difference in the growth. Mr.

Patil asked graduates to help make India Atmanirbhar. “Atmanirbhar is where you are the master of your own destiny, you create your own future, and you cannot be stopped by anybody,” he said. Digital systems can be switched off from elsewhere in the world, he cautioned, stating it makes homegrown strategic technologies essential.