Amid increasing concerns over the safety of nuclear plants in the country in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, a five-member US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) team, led by its Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko, will visit India from November 14-18 to meet Indian officials to exchange information and share experience on safety standards at nuclear power facilities. The high-powered delegation will hold talks with Indian Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and other Indian agencies, and visit a variety of nuclear facilities in the country. The NRC delegation will visit the nuclear power plants in Tarapur (Tarapur Atomic Power Station) and Chennai (Madras Atomic Power Station) and laboratories at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai and the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research in Chennai. “I look forward to the continuation and advancement of our long-term relationships with our the AERB Indian counterparts and with other Indian organisations in the area of nuclear safety,” said Chairman Jaczko ahead of his visit to India. Issues related to the mechanics of materials, design and construction, safety and reliability of reactor operations, fuel cycle facilities, waste management, decommissioning and the challenges of new reactors will be among subjects discussed at these meetings. The visit of the delegation is significant against the backdrop of the nuclear disaster that struck Fukushima in Japan in March and the movement against the Russia-built Kudankulam nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu where protesters are demanding the scrapping of the project. The government has, however, ruled out scrapping the project while assuring the protestors that all safety standards would be adhered to. But the protestors have remained unmoved and their agitation has assumed an alarming shape for the government. India and the US signed a landmark nuclear deal in 2008, but they have yet to implement the agreement as Washington is uneasy with New Delhi's liability regime which it sees as onerous and had demanded that it be brought in line with international standards. Prior to the US delegation’s visit, a nine-member technical delegation from the NRC is travelling to New Delhi to participate in the 21st International Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology (SMiRT) being held here. The 21st SMiRT is dedicated to the art, science and practice of nuclear structural mechanics. It will feature seminars on the mechanics of materials; fracture mechanics and structural integrity; design and construction issues; safety, reliability, risk and margins; issues related to reactor operations, inspection, and maintenance; fuel cycle facilities, waste management, and decommissioning; and the challenges of new reactors.