India needs nuclear energy to sustain its economic growth, a government official said.

Speaking in New Delhi Wednesday at the International Nuclear Symposium, Indian Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Srikumar Banerjee said, "Without nuclear energy, the economic growth of the country would be slowed down."

While acknowledging concerns regarding the safety of nuclear power in the wake of Japan's magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami last March 11 that led to a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, Banerjee said India can't renounce nuclear power.

"There is no point in avoiding the questions that have come up in people's minds -- we need to address them head-on," Banerjee said. "It is important for the public to understand India cannot renounce nuclear power," he said.

"There is a fear that accidents will have extensive consequences on human population and the environment. It is important to drive home the point that technology will not allow that to happen."

Banerjee has insisted that India's existing nuclear power facilities are safe.

Speaking Monday in advance of the symposium, he said: "All atomic energy plants in the country are totally secured as per the international standards and are also capable of dealing with natural calamities like (a) tsunami or earthquake."

Meanwhile, anti-nuclear protesters this week announced a 72-hour hunger strike against the commissioning of two reactors at the Kudankulam nuclear power project site in Tamil Nadu.

India's energy consumption -- fueled mostly by coal -- continues to grow about 6 percent annually, yet nearly 40 percent of households have no access to electricity.

Banerjee cited a study by the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay that says India's renewable energy sources would yield less than half the anticipated electricity demand by 2070, when sources of fossil fuels become scarce.

Also speaking Wednesday at the symposium, organized by the World Nuclear Association, Indian Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said India aims to have 63,000 megawatts of installed nuclear capacity by 2032.

India has 20 nuclear power plants in operation with an installed capacity of 4,780 megawatts, and another seven reactors under construction.

The increase in nuclear power generation, Shinde said, would come from both domestic technology and imported reactors.

"Nuclear technology has several distinct advantages -- it is compact and highly manageable in terms of handling, transportation and storage of the fuel," he said, adding that it is greener than all other power generation technologies.