Russia slow downs in construction of nuclear plants

"We are implementing the programme of building power units in Russia in accordance with the set task. It has not changed, and we will have to build all those 26 power units we have made plans for, but the peak of construction has been put off for several years due to the financial crisis and the dwindling consumption of electricity in the country," Sergei Kiriyenko, Rosatom head said on Wednesday.

He said it would be wrong to build reactors that are not needed. "We planned to build two units a year. Now we have corrected our programme to one unit a year for the next several years," Kiriyenko added.

Russia is also one of the leaders on the global NPP market. The Russian company Atomstroiexport fulfils orders making up about 20 percent of the global competitive market and is the only company in the world that is building reactors in four countries at the same time: China, India, Iran, and Bulgaria.

Scientific Discoveries Made During Apollo Exploration of the Moon

The Moon is not a primordial object; it is an evolved terrestrial planet with internal zoning similar to that of Earth.

The Moon is ancient and still preserves an early history (the first billion years) that must be common to all terrestrial planets.

The youngest Moon rocks are virtually as old as the oldest Earth rocks. The earliest processes and events that probably affected both planetary bodies can now only be found on the Moon.

The Moon and Earth are genetically related and formed from different proportions of a common reservoir of materials.

The Moon is lifeless; it contains no living organisms, fossils, or native organic compounds.

All Moon rocks originated through high-temperature processes with little or no involvement with water. They are roughly divisible into three types: basalts, anorthosites, and breccias.

Early in its history, the Moon was melted to great depths to form a "magma ocean." The lunar highlands contain the remnants of early, low-density rocks that floated to the surface of the magma ocean.

The lunar magma ocean was followed by a series of huge asteroid impacts that created basins which were later filled by lava flows.

The Moon is slightly asymmetrical in bulk form, possibly as a consequence of its evolution under Earth's gravitational influence. Its crust is thicker on the far side, while most volcanic basins—and unusual mass concentrations—occur on the near side.

The surface of the Moon is covered by a rubble pile of rock fragments and dust, called the lunar regolith that contains a unique radiation history of the Sun, which is of importance to understanding climate changes on Earth.

Facts about India

The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after leveling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.

India has the largest number of Post Offices in the world.

The largest employer in the world is the Indian Railways, employing over a million people.

India was one of the richest countries till the time of British rule in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus, attracted by India's wealth, had come looking for a sea route to India when he discovered America by mistake.

The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, long before the European mathematicians.

Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus also originated in India.Quadratic Equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53 (i.e. 10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C.during the Vedic period.Even today, the largest used number is Terra: 10*12(10 to the power of 12).

Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages.This is because it is the most precise and therefore the suitable language for computer software (a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987).

India provides safety for more than 300,000 refugees originally from Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who escaped to flee religious and political persecution.

Yoga has its origins in India and has existed for over 5,000 years.