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<ul><li><strong>The new time frame for RTGS will be effective from June 1. <br /></strong></li><li><strong>The fee for transfer of funds during 11am to 1pm is ₹2 whereas from 1pm to 6pm is ₹5.</strong></li></ul><br />The <keyword id="6354335" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> (<keyword id="30067" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="RBI">RBI</keyword>) has extended the timing for 'Real Time Gross Settlement’ (RTGS) system to 6 pm from its earlier 4.30 pm. The new time frame for RTGS will be effective from June 1, according to a statement issued by RBI on Tuesday.<br /><br />"It has been decided to extend the timings for customer transactions (initial cut-off) in RTGS from 4.30 p.m. to 6 p.m.<br /><br />"The time-varying charges for transactions in RTGS from 13:00 hours (1 p.m.) to 18:00 hours (6 p.m.) shall be Rs 5 per outward transaction," RBI said.<br /><br /><strong>Current fee structure for using <keyword id="7692436" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="rtgs-transaction">RTGS transaction</keyword> <br /></strong><br /><table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Time<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Fee<br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">8 am to 11am <br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Nil <br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">11 am to 1pm <br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹2<br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">1pm to 6pm <br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹5<br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">After 6pm <br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹10 <br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Currently, the fee for transferring funds using RTGS varies according to the time. There is no fee between 8 am to 11 am. The fee for transfer of funds during 11 am to 1 pm is ₹2 whereas from 1 pm to 6 pm is ₹5. The fee for transaction after 6 pm will be ₹10. <br /><br />RTGS is an online financial transaction system, where user can do real-time settlement of fund transfers individually, on a transaction-by-transaction basis. However, the system does not work around the clock. <br /><br />The RTGS system was built primarily for high value transactions. The minimum amount for the transaction for an RTGS is ₹200,000 with no restrictions on maximum value. <br /><br />The current RTGS service window for customer transactions is available to banks from 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. on a working day, for settlement at the RBI's end. <br /><br /><em>(with IANS)</em><br />

RBI to extend RTGS deadline to 6 p.m. from June 1

<br /><ul><li><strong>The <keyword id="6354335" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> has removed the charges levied to process any online transaction through <keyword id="285745" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="NEFT">NEFT</keyword> and <keyword id="6356014" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="rtgs">RTGS</keyword> system. <br /></strong></li><li><strong>The Central Bank has also decided to set up a committee to review the charges for using the ATM machine. <br /></strong></li></ul>The Reserve Bank of India (<keyword id="30067" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="RBI">RBI</keyword>) today paved the way for cheaper online fund transfers as it removed charges levied on NEFT and RTGS transactions. And, banks will be expected to make it cheaper for customers to perform these transactions too. <br /><br />“In order to provide an impetus to digital funds movement, it has been decided to do away with the charges levied by the Reserve Bank for transactions processed in the RTGS and NEFT systems. Banks will be required, in turn, to pass these benefits to their customers. Instructions to banks in this regard will be issued within a week,” RBI said on Thursday. <br /><br />The Reserve Bank levies minimum charges on banks for transactions routed through its RTGS and NEFT. Banks, in turn, levy charges on their customers. <br /><br />The decision to scrap the fees levied on RTGS transaction comes days after RBI extended the timings for doing RTGS transaction. Currently, the fee for transferring funds using RTGS varies according to the time. There is no fee between 8 am to 11 am. The fee for transfer of funds during 11 am to 1 pm is ₹2 whereas from 1 pm to 6 pm is ₹5. The fee for transaction after 6 pm is ₹10. <br /><br /><strong>Review ATM Charges<br /></strong><br />The Central Bank has also decided to set up a committee to review the charges for using the ATM machine. The committee will be chaired by Chief Executive Officer, Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), who will examine the entire issue related to ATM charges and fees.<br /><br />“Usage of ATMs by the public has been growing significantly. There have, however, been persistent demands to change the ATM charges and fees,” the central bank said in a statement. <br /><br />Earlier today, The Reserve Bank of India decided to reduce the repo rate for the commercial banks by 25 basis points (bps) to 5.75% in its second monetary policy review of the current fiscal. <br /><br />The RBI changed its monetary policy stance from neutral to accommodative, ruling out the chances of a rate increase.<br /><br /><strong>See also: </strong><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/rbi-cuts-repo-rate-by-25-bps-as-largely-expected/articleshow/69671872.cms">RBI surprises markets with a change in stance — aims to revive India's 'animal spirits'</a><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/rbi-to-extend-rtgs-deadline-to-6-p-m-from-june-1/articleshow/69553735.cms">RBI to extend RTGS deadline to 6 p.m. from June 1</a><br />

RBI moves to make online bank transfer cheaper, to review ATM charges

The Government of India has mandated all the vehicles running on the Indian roads to get <keyword id="3005928" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="FASTag">FASTag</keyword> by December 1, 2019. FASTag is developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) as part of the National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) program. FASTag facilitates direct toll payments by deducting the toll fee from the linked account of the customer. With the date for affixing FASTag nearing, here are a few FAQs that will help you ensure compliance better. <br /><br /><strong>What are the benefits of FASTag?</strong><br /><br />FASTag can rule out the need to wait at the long queues at the toll plazas. Some of the benefits of FASTag include promoting digital payment among the toll users, reducing pollution due to the vehicles waiting at the toll plazas and saving the time of the toll users. <br /><br /><strong>How to recharge FASTag?</strong><br /><br />The user can recharge the FATag account online through credit card / debit card / NEFT / RTGS or Net Banking. PayTm also provides the facility to recharge FASTag. <br /><br /><strong>What happens if there is no adequate balance in FASTag?</strong><br /><br />It is the customer’s responsibility to maintain adequate balance in the FASTag. Failing to maintain enough balance, the corresponding FASTag will be blacklisted at the toll plaza and the customer will not be able to avail of the NETC services. Hence he or she must make the toll fee in cash. This will mean that FASTag without sufficient balance is as good as a useless paper.<br /><br /><strong>Where can I purchase FASTag?</strong><br /><br />You can purchase FASTag at any one of the NETC member banks. Some of these banks provide online facility to apply for FASTag. Once you complete the online application and submit, you can visit the said bank physically to produce the necessary supporting documents to get a new FASTag subscription for your vehicle.<br /><br /><strong>What documents need to be submitted for new FASTag registration?</strong><br /><br />The documents you will need for new FASTag subscription include the vehicle’s registration certificate, vehicle owner’s passport size photograph and KYC documents of the vehicle owner for address and identity proof. <br /><br /><strong>What is the price of FASTag?</strong><br /><br />The FASTag issuance charges may differ between the issuing agencies. However, the one-time joining fee is Rs 200. <br /><br />Where to put the FASTag on my vehicle?<br /><br />Once the tag account is active, you must fix the FASTag sticker to the windscreen of your vehicle. <br /><br /><strong>What is the penalty for not using FASTag?</strong><br /><br />The National Highways Authority has directed the zonal offices to levy double toll fee as the penalty for vehicles not having FASTag. This will mean 100% penalty for not having FASTag. The rule reads thus, “User of the vehicle not fitted with FASTag entering the FASTag lane of the toll plazas shall pay a fee equivalent to two times of the fee applicable to the category of vehicle as per sub-rule (2) of rule 4.”<br /><br /><strong>Can FASTag be transferred to another vehicle?</strong><br /><br />FASTag is vehicle specific and completely linked to the particular vehicle for which it is originally bought. It cannot be transferred to any other vehicle. <br /><br /><strong>How will I get to know the transactions through FASTag?</strong><br /><br />When your vehicle passes through the toll plaza and your FASTag account is debited, you will get SMS alert on the registered mobile number.<br /><br /><strong>Do two wheelers need FASTag?</strong><br /><br />Two-wheelers and three-wheelers do not need FASTag. It is essential only for four wheelers that need to pay the toll fee. <br /><br /><br /><br />

FASTag Deadline Is Nearing And Here Are A Few FAQs To Ensure Compliance

New Delhi, Mar 26 () Markets regulator Sebi on Thursday granted more time to listed companies for holding annual general meetings and exempted them from giving advertisements in newspapers in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.<p> The regulator has been giving relaxation to listed companies and other market intermediaries as part of efforts to ease their compliance burden.</p><p> In a circular, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has given a relaxation of one month till September 30 to top 100-listed companies by market capitalisation for holding their annual general meeting (AGM) for 2019-20.</p><p> These companies were required to hold their respective AGMs by August 31.</p><p> Under the norms, companies are required to hold the AGM within 5 months from the closing of financial year.</p><p> In addition, Sebi has exempted companies from publication of advertisement in newspapers about their board meetings, financial results and other events till May 15.</p><p> Sebi has noted that some newspapers are not bringing their print versions for a limited period, some that are still printing are not accepting an e-copy of the information to be published, which is a challenge in ensuring compliance with the regulation.</p><p> Accordingly, the regulator has decided to exempt publication of advertisement in newspapers as required under the listing norms for all the events scheduled till May 15.</p><p> Besides, relaxation has been given by three months till June 30 for holding annual meetings of committees pertaining to nomination and remuneration, stakeholder relationship and risk management.</p><p> Further, the deadline has been extended with regard to certificate from practising company secretary on timely issue of share certificates, by one month till May 31.</p><p> In a separate circular, Sebi has eased operational procedure for share buyback.</p><p> The regulator said merchant bankers and other intermediaries can submit all relevant documents in PDF form through mail to Sebi and also pay the fees online to its account through RTGS or NEFT.</p> Earlier, Sebi had allowed listed companies to defer disclosure of their fourth quarter earnings by 45 days till June 30.  SP  HRS

Coronavirus outbreak: Sebi eases compliance norms for listed firms on AGMs, newspaper ads

<br /><br /><ul><li><keyword id="45660" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yes-Bank">Yes Bank</keyword>’s mobile and net banking services are down after the Reserve Bank of India limited withdrawals to ₹50,000.</li><li>The moratorium will stay in effect for a month and the RBI may increase the limitation on a case-by-case basis.</li><li>The apex bank points out that there is no reason for depositors to panic and that their interest will be fully protected.</li></ul>In a busy day for Yes Bank, withdrawals were capped at ₹50,000 in the evening today, March 5, by India’s top bank. Almost immediately after the mobile banking app and net banking website services were unavailable.<br /><br />
  
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<br />“There has been no intimation to employees as well. Even after the notification there is no email or Whatsapp notification from the management,” an employee told Business Insider on the condition of anonymity.<br /><br />“I tried to withdraw cash at around 8:00 pm but couldn't. Then tried to net banking and that failed too. That is when I realised there is something wrong,” he added<br /><br />
  
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<br />Sources told Business Insider that the downtime is likely temporary to make the requisite modifications to limit IMPS, NEFT, RTGS and fund transfers. Yes Bank is yet to respond to Business Insider’s request for comment as to why their online services are down.<br /><br /><strong>One month moratorium<br /></strong>The moratorium will stay in effect for a month and the RBI may increase the limitation of ₹50,000 on a case-by-case basis, keeping room for unique facts and circumstances.<br /><br />The board of Yes Bank has also been superseded with immediate effect, according to the statement by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Former CFO of India’s largest public sector bank State Bank of India (SBI) has been appointed as the administrator.<br /><br />“The Reserve Bank came to the conclusion that in the absence of a credible revival plan — and in public interest, and the interest of bank’s depositors — it had no alternative but to apply to central government for imposing a moratorium,” said the RBI.<br /><br />The apex bank points out that there is no reason for depositors to panic and that their interest will be fully protected.<br /><br /><strong>Yes Bank’s race to raise $2 billion<br /></strong>Today morning the bank’s share zoomed over 29% in the afternoon trade amid reports that the government has asked the State Bank of India (SBI) to lead a consortium to buy stake in the company. <br /><br />Sources told <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/sbi-lic-to-acquire-half-of-yes-bank-at-rs-2-per-share/articleshow/74492835.cms?from=mdr">ET</a> that SBI and the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) will acquire shares at ₹2 per share. The two state-run companies will acquire 49% stake for a total of ₹490 crore. <br /><br />
  



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<br />Yes Bank had originally sought a 45-day extension in February after hitting the original 45-day deadline to furnish its quarterly results with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). It said it required the extension to raise the required funds of $2 billion.<br /><br /><br /><br />

Yes Bank mobile and net banking down after RBI limits withdrawals to ₹50,000

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><ul><li><strong>Most places in the solar system can't be reached without nuclear energy.</strong></li><li><strong>NASA uses plutonium-238 forged during the Cold War to power its most ambitious missions.</strong></li><li><strong>NASA is running low on the material, but the Department of Energy is making more.</strong></li><li><strong>However, a government report suggests production challenges might impact NASA's future nuclear-powered missions.</strong></li></ul><p>Classroom models lie - our solar system isn't a bunch of bright, closely nestled orbs.</p><p>Instead, other planets are separated from Earth by unfathomable distances - and are often too cold, dim, and remote for any spacecraft to explore on solar power alone.</p><p>The good news is that we have plutonium-238: a radioisotope (or radioactive form of an element) whose heat can be converted into electricity. When placed inside devices called radioisotope power sources (RPS), plutonium-238 can keep NASA's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nuclear-powered-spacecraft-nasa-history-2017-3">most epic missions going for decades</a>.</p><p>The problem is that most plutonium-238 was forged during the Cold War, and mission-ready material may be exhausted within eight years, according to a <a href="http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-673">Government Accountability Office report</a> released Wednesday.</p><p>The Department of Energy is working to&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/plutonium-238-produced-nasa-spacecraft-2015-12">create&#xa0;more plutonium</a> for NASA, but the report said problems&#xa0;with that program "may be jeopardizing NASA's ability to use RPS as a power source for future missions."</p><p>If we hit a plutonium bottleneck,&#xa0;future knowledge about the solar system may hang in the balance.</p><h2>Space exploration's red-hot radioactive heart</h2><p>Radioisotopes are powerful all-in-one fuel sources.&#xa0;As they&#xa0;decay and transform into new elements, they release impressive amounts of energy. That heat can warm fragile robotic circuits and run power sources that are compact,&#xa0;lightweight, and&#xa0;capable of&#xa0;providing electricity for decades.</p><p>But of the roughly 2,900 types of radioisotopes known to humankind, only 22 are capable of powering a deep-space probe, according to <a href="https://www.nap.edu/catalog/12653/radioisotope-power-systems-an-imperative-for-maintaining-us-leadership-in">a 2009 study</a> by the National Academies of <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">Science</keyword>. And 21 of those pose too many challenges to be of practical use, since many are too expensive, emit too much dangerous radiation to work with, or lack enough heat output.</p><p>The only one that checks all of NASA's boxes is plutonium-238. And unlike its Pu-239 sister isotope, Pu-238 can't be made into <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-hydrogen-bomb-test-evidence-2017-9">explosive nuclear bombs</a>.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>"It's like a magic isotope. It's just right," Jim Adams, NASA's deputy chief technologist, previously told <a href="https://www.wired.com/2013/09/plutonium-238-problem/">told Wired</a>.<p>Part of Pu-238's secret is that its half-life - the time it takes for half of any given amount to decay&#xa0;- is 87.7 years. That means a century from now, any amount will give off a little less than half the heat it does today. That's important because time is a battle in space - it took the Cassini probe seven years to reach Saturn and the New Horizons spacecraft about nine years to reach <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pluto-subsurface-ocean-2016-12">Pluto</a>.</p><p>Pu-238's long half-life is the reason NASA can still talk to the Voyager probes <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/voyager-probes-mission-history-farthest-movie-2018-08">40 years after they launched</a> and from beyond the solar system.</p><p>Engineers have plenty of other ways to power planetary science probes, including batteries, fuel cells, solar power, and even <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nuclear-powered-satellites-space-2016-3">nuclear reactors</a>. But study after study champions plutonium-238 as the best choice for a long list of reasons (including its half-life).</p><p>The biggest is the lack of space on rockets. Too much size or weight can make a mission unfeasible, so if a power source is too big or heavy, scientists have to sacrifice a robot's tools and tricks.</p><p>Radiation is a related issue: Many planets and moons whip up powerful electromagnetic fields, which can damage electronics. Solar panels are especially susceptible to this kind of radiation, so when sending probes to risky destinations - like Jupiter's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/europa-water-jet-hubble-telescope-photos-2016-9">ocean-hiding moon Europa</a> - engineers pack in thick, heavy shielding and backup systems. That enables a robot to stick around a planet or moon for more than a few hours at a time, but it's weight that can't be used on scientific tools or power.</p><p>Pre-charged batteries and fuel cells also don't last long enough for most deep-space missions. Solar panels do last, but they have to be very large when sent far from the sun.</p><p>On Jupiter, for instance, light is about 4% as bright as it is at Earth. This required the unfurled solar panels on NASA's Juno spacecraft to expand to roughly the size of a tennis court. Space is also very cold, and many electronics need to stay above a certain temperature to function.</p><p><a href="https://www.astro.umd.edu/people/jess.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jessica Sunshine</a>, a space scientist who developed a <a href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008LPICo1405.8131C" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">comet-hopper mission</a> for NASA, told Business Insider that without plutonium, missions like hers come into question.</p><p>"It's not a matter of 'can you do it better,' but 'can you do it at all,'" she said. "On a comet, operating at crazy distances, you can't land with solar panels the size of an Airbus wing. A radioactive power supply is a totally enabling thing."</p><h2>The plutonium problem</h2><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>The US government stopped making Pu-238 in 1988. Russia sold some to NASA in the 1990s and 2000s, but it stopped selling around 2009 - most likely because its Cold War-era stockpile ran out.</p><p>So as the space agency planned new plutonium-powered missions and used up its supply, researchers increasingly sounded alarms on Capitol Hill.</p><p>The complexity of producing more Pu-238, hard-to-peg cost estimates, and disagreements within Congress stalled funding for a resupply project for about two decades. As a result, NASA today has about 77 pounds left (though the Department of Defense has a separate stockpile).</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>However, because Pu-238 decays, only about half of&#xa0;NASA's stockpile is still fresh and hot enough&#xa0;for NASA's needs.<p>This is not enough for another <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-cassini-pictures-free-ebook-pdf-2017-9">mission like Cassini</a>, which used more than 50 pounds - yet space scientists hope to send similar spacecraft to explore hidden oceans on moons of Jupiter and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/voyager-mom-linda-spilker-why-nasa-should-go-back-saturn-2017-9">Saturn</a>; revisit Uranus, Neptune, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pluto-subsurface-ocean-2016-11">Pluto</a>; and&#xa0;travel to other cold, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/number-dwarf-planets-solar-system-2017-3">mysterious, far-flung destinations</a> for the first time.</p><p>"All of these missions would require nuclear power," Alan Stern, the former head of science at NASA and principal investigator of the New Horizons mission, told Business Insider.</p><p>That's why space scientists celebrated in July 2011 when Congress approved <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2011/07/using-nuclear-fuel-future-nasa-missions-gets-boost" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$10 million in new funding</a> to restart Pu-238 production for the first time since the Cold War.</p><p>The DOE manages the plutonium resupply project, since federal regulations prevent NASA from handling the nuclear material. The project's goal is to revitalize the aging plutonium in NASA's stockpile and bulk it up with fresh plutonium.</p><p>By December 2015, the DOE had <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/plutonium-238-produced-nasa-spacecraft-2015-12">created 50 grams of mission-ready plutonium</a> for NASA. That amount has since doubled to about 100 grams (just more than two golf balls' worth of mass), and another 100 grams are expected to come out of reactors this fall.</p><p>"They seem to have figured out the secret recipe," Ralph McNutt, a chief scientist at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory, told Business Insider.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><h2>Fits, restarts, and snags</h2><p>Jim Green, the head of NASA's planetary science program, is optimistic about the project, which may soon cost the space agency roughly $20 million per year. The DOE expects to begin producing 2/3 to 1 pound of Pu-238 per year in 2019.</p><p>"I think we're in really good [shape] for the next several decades," Green said during a press conference last month after the destruction of Cassini. "Our plan is to keep a stock of plutonium and not let that be a mission-limiting factor."</p><p>But the production timeline and GAO report suggests it's not so easy.</p><p>NASA asked DOE to make about 3.3 pounds of Pu-238 a year, and DOE&#xa0;pledged to&#xa0;try to achieve full-scale production at that level around 2019 at the earliest. But over the years that early deadline moved to 2021, then 2023, then 2025. The program is supposed to achieve full-scale production by 2026 at the latest - so a seven-year cushion has shrunk to just one year.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>David Schurr, the deputy director of NASA's planetary science program, told Business Insider via email that these timeline shifts were "normal and expected" and there isn't a risk "that threatens the availability of fuel for the foreseeable future."<p>Technically, the DOE is still within its estimated production range. NASA also has enough plutonium for its car-size <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-nasa-mars-sample-return-mission-2016-12">Mars 2020 rover</a> as well as one of several <a href="https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/2017/05/05/nasa-receives-proposals-for-future-solar-system-mission" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">nuclear-powered mission proposals</a> it may select in 2019 - the only two nuclear-powered mission launches it may launch through 2025.</p><p>However, according to the GAO's new report, which was the centerpiece of <a href="https://science.house.gov/legislation/hearings/subcommittee-space-hearing-powering-exploration-update-radioisotope-production">a congressional hearing</a> on Wednesday, NASA may run out of mission-ready plutonium after that.</p><p>The GAO spent 18 months auditing the plutonium production operation, and identified many snags in the chemistry, workflow, and scalability of the DOE's project. These issues have arisen because the DOE could not simply take the Cold War-era plans, dust off old equipment, rehire retired staff, and get started. The facilities, staff, and process used during that time no longer exist.</p><p>"The reactor is gone now. Disassembled. The cooling tower was torn down in early 90s," McNutt said. "All of that stuff is just gone."</p><p>The recipe is also different. Cold War-era researchers invented a new production process that generates less radioactive waste, but McNutt said no one ever got it working seamlessly, let alone scaled it up.</p><p>"This stuff is so incredibly complicated. It's tough. Intrinsically difficult," McNutt said. He noted during Wednesday's congressional hearing that it took roughly $7 billion of research over 60 years to develop the fuel and power supplies that NASA uses today.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><h2>What it takes to produce Pu-238</h2><p>To forge 3.3 pounds of plutonium a year, the DOE has had to assemble a Rube Goldberg machine out of three facilities spread around the country.</p><p>In brief, the process goes like this: Neptunium-237 (another Cold War-era byproduct, and the key starter material to make Pu-238) is shipped from Idaho National Laboratory to Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, where it's formed into reactor-ready targets.</p><p>Those targets are irradiated for months, removed, and then left to radioactively cool, a process that takes about a year. Technicians then dissolve the targets, purify a small amount of fresh Pu-238, and contain the waste. Leftover neptunium is crafted into new targets, some of which gets shipped back to Idaho.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Once made, fresh plutonium is sent to Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, where it's stored and inserted into safety devices that contain the plutonium within a radioisotope power source. Those devices are then sent back to Idaho for assembly into power sources for NASA.<p>The whole program costs NASA about $77 million for a power supply with 10.6 pounds of plutonium, according to the GAO report. The Curiosity rover on Mars uses one such power supply, though future missions may use up to three. (NASA gets a deep discount when several power supplies are ordered at a time.)</p><p>If there's any hiccup in the pipeline, McNutt compared the consequences to "a case where someone just sneezes and everyone gets a pneumonia."</p><p>According to the GAO report, the DOE is "still in the experimental stage" with Pu-238 production and hasn't mastered the chemistry. It also said that meeting full-scale production will require making neptunium targets five times faster (a robotic fabricator that's supposed to debut later this year could help with that). DOE may also need a 38-50% larger staff of technicians, each of whom takes about two years to train.</p><p><br>Furthermore, the report states the DOE isn't tracking systemic risks that may threaten the department's Pu-238 production goals, nor communicating those to NASA. For example, the project competes for work space in a facility related to DOE's primary responsibility - maintaining the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nuclear-weapons-stockpiles-world-map-2017-8">US nuclear weapons arsenal</a> - so the project might have to pause unless a new location is arranged.</br></p><p>The DOE concurred with the report's conclusions and committed to crafting a new plan by September 2018.</p><p>"Generically, without clear plans and good risk evaluations, you can be surprised," Schurr told Business Insider in an email.</p><p>McNutt chalks up most of these problems to tight funding, since much of the work is novel.</p><p>"I think the people that are managing this are really between a rock and a hard place," he said. "Until we're actually up and running at a level of full-scale production, I don't think we're really going to know what all of this is going to cost."</p><p>But he's still optimistic, especially since a more daunting plutonium shortage loomed on the horizon before 2009.</p><p>"We did literally think we were close to a going-out-of-business sale, that this was close to being shut down. At least now, we're up and running" he said, adding, "I always tell people, 'if you're into instant gratification, don't get into the space business.'"</p><div><div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:54%"></div></div><div><div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:54%"></div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/molten-salt-reactor-technology-power-world-millions-years-2016-12">This Cold War-era technology could safely power the world for millions of years</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

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