Nuclear power is the fifth-largest source
of electricity in India after coal, gas, hydroelectricity
and wind power. As of March 2018, India has
22 nuclear reactors in operation in 7 nuclear
power plants, having a total installed capacity
of 6,780 MW. Nuclear power produced a total
of 35 TWh and supplied 3.22 per cent of Indian
electricity in 2017. 6 more reactors are under
construction with a combined generation capacity
of 4,300 MW.
In October 2010, India drew up a plan to reach
a nuclear power capacity of 63 GW in 2032,
but after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster
in Japan people around proposed Indian nuclear
power plant sites have launched protests,
raising questions about atomic energy as a
clean and safe alternative to fossil fuels.
There have been mass protests against the
French-backed 9,900 MW Jaitapur Nuclear Power
Project in Maharashtra and the Russian-backed
2,000 MW Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in
Tamil Nadu.
The state government of West Bengal, has also
refused permission to a proposed 6,000 MW
facility near the town of Haripur that intended
to host six Russian reactors.
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has also
been filed against the government’s civil
nuclear programme at the Supreme Court.The
capacity factor of Indian reactors was at
79% in the year 2011-12 compared to 71% in
2010-11.
Nine out of twenty Indian reactors recorded
97% capacity factor during 2011-12.
With the imported uranium from France, the
220 MW Kakrapar 2 PHWR reactors recorded 99%
capacity factor during 2011-12.
The Availability factor for the year 2011-12
was at 89%.
India has been making advances in the field
of thorium-based fuels, working to design
and develop a prototype for an atomic reactor
using thorium and low-enriched uranium, a
key part of India's three stage nuclear power
programme. The country has also recently re-initiated
its involvement in the LENR research activities,
in addition to supporting work done in the
fusion power area through the ITER initiative.
== History ==
=== 
Early nuclear physics research ===
As early as 1901, the Geological Survey of
India (GSI) had recognised India as potentially
having significant deposits of radioactive
ores, including pitchblende, uranium and thorianite.
In the ensuing 50 years, however, little to
no effort was made to exploit those resources.
During the 1920s and 1930s, Indian scientists
maintained close links to their counterparts
in Europe and the United States, and were
well aware of the latest developments in physics.
Several Indian physicists, notably Daulat
Singh Kothari, Meghnad Saha, Homi J. Bhabha
and R. S. Krishnan, conducted pioneering research
in nuclear physics in Europe during the 1930s.
By 1939, Meghnad Saha, the Palit Professor
of Physics at the University of Calcutta,
had recognised the significance of the discovery
of nuclear fission, and had begun to conduct
various experiments in his laboratory related
to nuclear physics. In 1940, he incorporated
nuclear physics into the university's post-graduate
curriculum. In the same year, the Sir Dorabji
Tata Trust sanctioned funds for installing
a cyclotron at the University of Calcutta,
but various difficulties likely related to
the war delayed the project. In 1944, Homi
J. Bhabha, a distinguished nuclear physicist
who had established a research school at the
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, wrote
a letter to his distant cousin J. R. D. Tata,
the chairman of the Tata Group. He requested
funds to establish a research institute of
fundamental physics, "with special reference
to cosmic rays and nuclear physics." The Tata
Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) was
inaugurated in Mumbai the following year.
=== Establishment of atomic energy in India
===
Following the atomic bombing of Hiroshima
in August 1945, R.S. Krishnan, a nuclear physicist
who had studied under Norman Feather and John
Cockroft, and who recognised the massive energy-generating
potential of uranium, observed, "If the tremendous
energy released from atomic explosions is
made available to drive machinery, etc., it
will bring about an industrial revolution
of a far-reaching character." He further noted,
however, the difficulties in harnessing nuclear
power for peaceful usage, "...a great deal
more research work is needed before atomic
power can be put to industrial use."In March
1946, the Board of Scientific and Industrial
Research (BSIR), under the Council of Scientific
and Industrial Research (CSIR), set up an
Atomic Research Committee under Bhabha's leadership
to explore India's atomic energy resources
and to suggest ways to develop and harness
them, along with establishing contacts with
similar organisations in other nations. At
the same time, the University of Travancore's
research council met to discuss Travancore's
future industrial development. Among other
matters, the council made recommendations
for developing the state's resources of monazite,
a valuable thorium ore, and ilmenite, with
regard to their applications in atomic energy.
The council suggested the project could be
undertaken by an all-India programme. This
was followed by the deputation of Bhabha and
Sir Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, the Director
of the CSIR, to Travancore in April 1947 and
the establishment of a working relationship
with the kingdom's dewan, Sir C. P. Ramaswami
Iyer.Early in 1947, plans were made to establish
a Uranium Unit under the Geological Survey
of India, to focus on identifying and developing
resources of uranium-bearing minerals. In
June 1947, two months before Indian independence,
Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, then Minister
for Industry, Supply, Education and Finance
in the Interim Government of India, established
an Advisory Board for Research in Atomic Energy.
Chaired by Bhabha and placed under the CSIR,
the Advisory Board included Saha, Bhatnagar
and several other distinguished scientists,
notably Sir K. S. Krishnan, the co-discoverer
of the Raman effect, geologist Darashaw Nosherwan
Wadia and Nazir Ahmed, a student of Ernest
Rutherford. A Joint Committee comprising the
above scientists and three representatives
of the Travancore government was set up to
determine how best to utilise Travancore's
resources of monazite. Following the independence
and partition of India, Travancore briefly
declared itself independent before acceding
to the new Dominion of India in 1949 after
a period of intense negotiations, while Ahmad
departed for Pakistan, where he would eventually
head that nation's atomic energy agency.
On 23 March 1948, Prime Minister Jawaharlal
Nehru introduced the Atomic Energy Bill in
the Indian Parliament, and it was subsequently
passed as the Indian Atomic Energy Act. Modelled
on the British Atomic Energy Act 1946, the
Act granted sweeping powers to the central
government over nuclear science and research,
including surveying for atomic minerals, the
development of such mineral resources on an
industrial scale, conducting research regarding
the scientific and technical problems connected
with developing atomic energy for peaceful
purposes, the training and education of the
necessary personnel and the fostering of fundamental
research in the nuclear sciences in Indian
laboratories, institutes and universities.
Around the same time, the Government of West
Bengal sanctioned the construction of a nuclear
physics institute under the University of
Calcutta; the cornerstone was laid in May
1948, and the institute was inaugurated on
11 January 1950 by Irène Joliot-Curie.With
effect from 1 June 1948, the Advisory Board
for Research in Atomic Energy, together with
its parent organisation the CSIR, was folded
into the new Department of Scientific Research
and placed directly under the Prime Minister.
On 3 August 1948, the Atomic Energy Commission
of India (AEC) was established and made separate
from the Department of Scientific Research,
with Bhabha as its first chairman. In January
1949, the AEC met to formulate a uniform under-
and post-graduate university syllabus for
theoretical and fundamental physics and chemistry,
to guarantee sufficient numbers of nuclear
scientists and to ensure they would receive
consistent levels of training and education.
In the same year, the Tata Institute of Fundamental
Research was designated by the CSIR as the
hub for all major nuclear science research
projects. In 1950, the government announced
it would purchase all available stocks of
uranium and beryllium minerals and ores, and
declared large rewards for any significant
discoveries of the same. On 3 January 1954,
the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET)
was established by the Atomic Energy Commission
to consolidate all nuclear reactor research
and technology-related developments; on 3
August, the Atomic Energy Commission and all
its subordinate agencies, including the Tata
Institute of Fundamental Research and the
nuclear research institute at Calcutta University,
were transferred to the new Department of
Atomic Energy and placed under the direct
charge of the Prime Minister's Office. In
May 1956, construction began at Trombay on
a uranium metal plant and a fuel element fabrication
facility for the research reactors; the uranium
plant came into operation in January 1959,
followed by the fuel element facility in February
1960. The AEET (renamed the Bhabha Atomic
Research Centre in 1967, after Bhabha's death)
was formally inaugurated by Nehru in January
1957. With the expanding scope of Indian nuclear
research, the 1948 Atomic Energy Act was amended
in 1961, and was passed as the new Atomic
Energy Act, coming into force in September
1962.
=== Early research reactors ===
At a meeting of the Atomic Energy Commission
on 15 March 1955, the decision was made to
construct a small nuclear reactor at Trombay.
The reactor would be used for training personnel
for the operation of future reactors and for
research, including experiments in nuclear
physics, studying the effects of irradiation
and the production of isotopes for medical,
agricultural and industrial research. In October
1955, an agreement was signed by the United
Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority and the Indian
Department of Atomic Energy, under which Britain
would supply uranium fuel elements for a pool-type
reactor to be designed by India. The agreement
further ensured the "close cooperation and
mutual assistance between the Department and
the Authority in the promotion and development
of the peaceful uses of atomic energy," and
provided for future design and collaboration
in the construction of a high flux reactor
at a later date. Named Apsara, the reactor
was housed in a 100 x 50 x 70 concrete building.
India's and Asia's first nuclear reactor,
Apsara reached criticality at 3:45 p.m on
4 August 1956 and was inaugurated by Prime
Minister Nehru on 20 January 1957.In April
1955, the Canadian government under Prime
Minister Louis St. Laurent offered to assist
in building an NRX-type reactor for India
under the Colombo Plan, of which both India
and Canada were then members. Prime Minister
St. Laurent expressed hopes the reactor would
serve India well in the development of peaceful
atomic research and development. On behalf
of the Indian government, Nehru formally accepted
the offer that September, stating the reactor
would be made available to any accredited
foreign scientists, including those from other
Colombo Plan member states. On 28 April 1956,
Nehru and the Canadian High Commissioner to
India Escott Reid signed an agreement for
a "Canada-India Colombo Plan Atomic Reactor
Project." Under the terms of the agreement,
Canada would provide a 40 MW CIRUS reactor
for solely research purposes, including the
initial manufacture and engineering of the
reactor, and would also provide technical
expertise, including training Indian personnel
in its operation. India would supply the reactor
site and foundation, and would also pay all
"internal" costs, including the construction
of the reactor complex, the costs of local
labour and any shipping and insurance fees.
Under Article II of the agreement, India would
make the reactor facilities available to other
Colombo Plan nations. Article III stipulated
that the "reactor and any products resulting
from its use will be employed for peaceful
purposes only;" at the time, however, there
were no effective safeguards to ensure this
clause. A further agreement was made with
the United States government to supply 21
tons of heavy water for the reactor. Construction
of the reactor began later in 1956, with Indian
technical personnel sent to Chalk River for
training. CIRUS was completed in early 1960
and after achieving criticality in July 1960,
was inaugurated by Nehru in January 1961.
Construction of a third research reactor,
ZERLINA (Zero Energy Reactor for Lattice Investigations
and New Assemblies) began at Trombay in 1958;
ZERLINA was also commissioned in 1961.
=== Beginnings of commercial nuclear power
===
In September 1955, the question of building
a commercial nuclear power station was raised
in Parliament. Shortly after the world's first
commercial nuclear power plant came online
at Obninsk in the Soviet Union, the Soviets
invited a number of Indian experts to visit
it; the United States concurrently offered
training in atomic energy to Indian technical
and scientific personnel. In August 1957,
members of the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce
in Ahmedabad (then in Bombay State) requested
an atomic power station for their city, by
which time the Indian government was actively
considering the construction of at least "one
or more large Atomic Power Stations to generate
electricity." By November 1958, the Atomic
Energy Commission had recommended construction
of two nuclear power stations, each consisting
of two units and able to generate 500 MW of
power, for a total generating capacity of
1000 MW; the government decided that a minimum
of 250 MW of electricity generated from nuclear
reactors would be incorporated into the Third
Five Year Plan (1961-1966).In February 1960,
it was decided the first power plant would
be erected in Western India, with locations
in Rajasthan, near Delhi and near Madras noted
for future commercial reactors. In September,
the Punjab government requested a nuclear
power station for their state. On 11 October
1960, the Indian government issued a global
tender for India's first nuclear power station
near Tarapur, Maharashtra and consisting of
two reactors, each generating around 150 MW
of electricity and to be commissioned in 1965.
In August 1961, the Indian and Canadian governments
agreed to conduct a joint study on building
a Canada-India nuclear power plant in Rajasthan;
the reactor would be based on the CANDU reactor
at Douglas Point and would generate 200 MW
of energy. By this time, seven responses to
India's global tender for the Tarapur power
station had been received: three from the
United States, two from the UK and one each
from France and Canada.The agreement for India's
first nuclear power plant at Rajasthan, RAPP-1,
was signed in 1963, followed by RAPP-2 in
1966. These reactors contained rigid safeguards
to ensure they would not be used for a military
programme. RAPP-1 began operation in 1972.
Due to technical problems the reactor had
to be downrated from 200 MW to 100 MW. The
technical and design information were given
free of charge by Atomic Energy of Canada
Limited to India. The United States and Canada
terminated their assistance after the detonation
of India's first nuclear explosion in 1974.
=== Recent developments ===
After successful commissioning of Kudankulam
units 1 & 2, an agreement was made with Russia
in June 2017 for the units 5 & 6 (2 x 1000
MW) with an estimated cost of INR 250 million
(3.85 million US$) per MW. Earlier, India
had also entered in to an agreement with Russia
in October 2016 for the units 3 & 4 (2 x 1000
MW) with an estimated cost of INR 200 million
(3.08 million US$) per MW.
== Nuclear fuel reserves ==
India's domestic uranium reserves are small
and the country is dependent on uranium imports
to fuel its nuclear power industry. Since
early 1990s, Russia has been a major supplier
of nuclear fuel to India. Due to dwindling
domestic uranium reserves, electricity generation
from nuclear power in India declined by 12.83%
from 2006 to 2008. Following a waiver from
the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in September
2008 which allowed it to commence international
nuclear trade, India has signed bilateral
deals on civilian nuclear energy technology
cooperation with several other countries,
including France, the United States, the United
Kingdom, Canada, and South Korea. India has
also uranium supply agreements with Russia,
Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Argentina and Namibia.
An Indian private company won a uranium exploration
contract in Niger.In March 2011 large deposits
of uranium were discovered in the Tummalapalle
belt and in the Bhima basin at Gogi in Karnataka
by the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration
and Research (AMD) of India.
The Tummalapalle belt uranium reserves promises
to be one of the world's top 20 uranium reserves
discoveries.
44,000 tonnes of natural uranium have been
discovered in the belt so far, which is estimated
to have three times that amount.
The natural uranium deposits of the Bhima
basin has better grade of natural uranium
ore, even though it is smaller than the Tummalapalle
belt.
In recent years, India has shown increased
interest in thorium fuels and fuel cycles
because of large deposits of thorium (518,000
tonnes) in the form of monazite in beach sands
as compared to very modest reserves of low-grade
uranium (92,000 tonnes).
== Nuclear agreements with other nations ==
As of 2016, India has signed civil nuclear
agreements with 14 countries: Argentina, Australia,
Canada, Czech Republic, France, Japan, Kazakhstan,
Mongolia, Namibia, Russia, South Korea, the
United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam.
The 48-nation NSG granted a waiver to India
on 6 September 2008 allowing it to access
civilian nuclear technology and fuel from
other countries. India the only known country
with nuclear weapons which is not a party
to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) but
is still allowed to carry out nuclear commerce
with the rest of the world.The nuclear agreement
with USA led to India issuing a Letter of
Intent for purchasing 10,000 MW from the USA.
However, liability concerns and a few other
issues are preventing further progress on
the issue. Experts say that India's nuclear
liability law discourages foreign nuclear
companies. This law gives accident victims
the right to seek damages from plant suppliers
in the event of a mishap. It has "deterred
foreign players like General Electric and
Westinghouse Electric, a US-based unit of
Toshiba, with companies asking for further
clarification on compensation liability for
private operators".Russia has an ongoing agreement
of 1988 vintage with India regarding establishing
of two VVER 1000 MW reactors (water-cooled
water-moderated light water power reactors)
at Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu. A 2008 agreement
caters for provision of an additional four
third generation VVER-1200 reactors of capacity
1170 MW each. Russia has assisted in India’s
efforts to design a nuclear plant for its
nuclear submarine. In 2009, the Russians stated
that Russia would not agree to curbs on export
of sensitive technology to India. A new accord
signed in Dec 2009 with Russia gives India
freedom to proceed with the closed fuel cycle,
which includes mining, preparation of the
fuel for use in reactors, and reprocessing
of spent fuel.After the Nuclear Suppliers
Group agreed to allow nuclear exports to India,
France was the first country to sign a civilian
nuclear agreement with India, on 30 September
2008. During the December 2010 visit of the
French President Nicolas Sarkozy to India,
framework agreements were signed for the setting
up two third-generation EPR reactors of 1650
MW each at Jaitapur, Maharashtra by the French
company Areva. The deal caters for the first
set of two of six planned reactors and the
supply of nuclear fuel for 25 years. The contract
and pricing is yet to be finalised. Construction
is unlikely to start before 2014 because of
regulatory issues and difficulty in sourcing
major components from Japan due to India not
being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty.India and Mongolia signed a crucial
civil nuclear agreement on 15 June 2009 for
supply of Uranium to India, during Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh's visit to Mongolia making
it the fifth nation in the world to seal a
civil nuclear pact with India. The MoU on
“development of cooperation in the field
of peaceful uses of radioactive minerals and
nuclear energy” was signed by senior officials
in the department of atomic energy of the
two countries.On 2 September 2009, India and
Namibia signed five agreements, including
one on civil nuclear energy which allows for
supply of uranium from the African country.
This was signed during President Hifikepunye
Pohamba's five-day visit to India in May 2009.
Namibia is the fifth largest producer of uranium
in the world. The Indo-Namibian agreement
in peaceful uses of nuclear energy allows
for supply of uranium and setting up of nuclear
reactors.On 14 October 2009, India and Argentina
signed an agreement in New Delhi on civil
nuclear cooperation and nine other pacts to
establish strategic partnership. According
to official sources, the agreement was signed
by Vivek Katju, Secretary in the Ministry
of External Affairs and Argentine foreign
minister Jorge Talana. Taking into consideration
their respective capabilities and experience
in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, both
India and Argentina have agreed to encourage
and support scientific, technical and commercial
cooperation for mutual benefit in this field.The
Prime Ministers of India and Canada signed
a civil nuclear cooperation agreement in Toronto
on 28 June 2010 which when all steps are taken,
will provide access for Canada's nuclear industry
to India's expanding nuclear market and also
fuel for India's reactors. Canada is one of
the world's largest exporters of uranium and
Canada's heavy water nuclear technology is
marketed abroad with CANDU-type units operating
in India, Pakistan, Argentina, South Korea,
Romania and China. On 6 November 2012, India
and Canada finalised their 2010 nuclear export
agreement, opening the way for Canada to begin
uranium exports to India.On 16 April 2011,
India and Kazakhstan signed an inter-governmental
agreement for Cooperation in Peaceful Uses
of Atomic Energy, that envisages a legal framework
for supply of fuel, construction and operation
of atomic power plants, exploration and joint
mining of uranium, exchange of scientific
and research information, reactor safety mechanisms
and use of radiation technologies for healthcare.
PM Manmohan Singh visited Astana where a deal
was signed. After the talks, the Kazakh President
Nazarbaev announced that his country would
supply India with 2100 tonnes of uranium and
was ready to do more. India and Kazakhstan
already have civil nuclear cooperation since
January 2009 when Nuclear Power Corporation
of India Limited (NPCIL) and Kazakh nuclear
company KazAtomProm signed an MoU during the
visit of Nazarbaev to Delhi. Under the contract,
KazAtomProm supplies uranium which is used
by Indian reactors.South Korea became the
latest country to sign a nuclear agreement
with India after it got the waiver from the
Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) in 2008. On
25 July 2011 India and South Korea signed
a nuclear agreement, which will allow South
Korea with a legal foundation to participate
in India’s nuclear expansion programme,
and to bid for constructing nuclear power
plants in India.In 2014, India and Australia
signed a civil nuclear agreement which allows
the export of uranium to India. This was signed
in New Delhi during Australian Prime Minister
Tony Abbott's meeting with the Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on 4 September 2014.
Australia is the third largest producer of
uranium in the world. The agreement allows
supply of uranium for peaceful generation
of power for civil use in India.India's Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and UK Prime Minister
David Cameron signed Civil Nuclear Agreement
on 12 Nov, 2015.In November 2016 Japan signed
a nuclear cooperation agreement with India.
Japanese nuclear plant builders saw this as
potential lifeline given that domestic orders
had ended following the Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear disaster, and India is proposing to
build about 20 new reactors over the next
decade.
== Nuclear power plans ==
As of 2009, India envisages to increase the
contribution of nuclear power to overall electricity
generation capacity from 2.8% to 9% within
25 years.
By 2020, India's installed nuclear power generation
capacity was expected to increase to 20 GW..
But the 2020 capacity will not exceed 7 GW,
as the 2018 operating capacity is 6.2 GW,
and only one more reactor is expected on line
before 2020.
As of 2018, India stands 13th in the world
in terms nuclear capacity.
Indigenous atomic reactors include TAPS-3,
and -4, both of which are 540 MW reactors.The
Indian nuclear power industry is expected
to undergo a significant expansion in the
coming years, in part due to the passing of
the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement.
This agreement will allow India to carry out
trade of nuclear fuel and technologies with
other countries and significantly enhance
its power generation capacity.
When the agreement goes through, India is
expected to generate an additional 25 GW of
nuclear power by 2020, bringing total estimated
nuclear power generation to 45 GW.Risks related
to nuclear power generation prompted Indian
legislators to enact the 2010 Nuclear Liability
Act which stipulates that nuclear suppliers,
contractors and operators must bear financial
responsibility in case of an accident.
The legislation addresses key issues such
as nuclear radiation and safety regulations,
operational control and maintenance management
of nuclear power plants, compensation in the
event of a radiation-leak accident, disaster
clean-up costs, operator responsibility and
supplier liability.
A nuclear accident like the 2011 Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear disaster would have dire economic
consequences in heavily populated India as
did the 1984 Union Carbide Bhopal disaster,
considered among the world's worst industrial
disasters.India has already been using imported
enriched uranium for light-water reactors
that are currently under IAEA safeguards,
but it has developed other aspects of the
nuclear fuel cycle to support its reactors.
Development of select technologies has been
strongly affected by limited imports.
Use of heavy water reactors has been particularly
attractive for the nation because it allows
Uranium to be burnt with little to no enrichment
capabilities.
India has also done a great amount of work
in the development of a thorium centred fuel
cycle.
While uranium deposits in the nation are limited
there are much greater reserves of thorium
and it could provide hundreds of times the
energy with the same mass of fuel.
The fact that thorium can theoretically be
utilised in heavy water reactors has tied
the development of the two.
A prototype reactor that would burn Uranium-Plutonium
fuel while irradiating a thorium blanket is
under construction at Kalpakkam by BHAVINI.
Uranium used for the weapons programme has
been separated from the power programme, using
uranium from indigenous reserves.
This domestic reserve of 80,000 to 112,000
tons of uranium (approx 1% of global uranium
reserves) is large enough to supply all of
India's commercial and military reactors as
well as supply all the needs of India's nuclear
weapons arsenal.
Currently, India's nuclear power reactors
consume, at most, 478 tonnes of uranium per
year.
Even if India were quadruple its nuclear power
output (and reactor base) to 20 GW by 2020,
nuclear power generation would only consume
2000 tonnes of uranium per annum.
Based on India's known commercially viable
reserves of 80,000 to 112,000 tons of uranium,
this represents a 40–50 years uranium supply
for India's nuclear power reactors (note with
reprocessing and breeder reactor technology,
this supply could be stretched out many times
over). Furthermore, the uranium requirements
of India's Nuclear Arsenal are only a fifteenth
(1/15) of that required for power generation
(approx. 32 tonnes), meaning that India's
domestic fissile material supply is more than
enough to meet all needs for it strategic
nuclear arsenal. Therefore, India has sufficient
uranium resources to meet its strategic and
power requirements for the foreseeable future.Former
Indian President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam stated
while he was in office that "energy independence
is India's first and highest priority. India
has to go for nuclear power generation in
a big way using thorium-based reactors. Thorium,
a non fissile material is available in abundance
in our country." India has vast thorium reserves
and quite limited uranium reserves.The long-term
goal of India's nuclear program has been to
develop an advanced heavy-water thorium cycle.
The first stage of this employs the pressurized
heavy water reactors (PHWR) fueled by natural
uranium, and light water reactors, which produce
plutonium incidentally to their prime purpose
of electricity generation.
The second stage uses fast neutron reactors
burning the plutonium with the blanket around
the core having uranium as well as thorium,
so that further plutonium (ideally high-fissile
Pu) is produced as well as U-233.
The Atomic and Molecular Data Unit (AMD) has
identified almost 12 million tonnes of monazite
resources (typically with 6-7% thorium).
In stage 3, Advanced Heavy Water Reactors
(AHWR) would burn thorium-plutonium fuels
in such a manner that breeds U-233 which can
eventually be used as a self-sustaining fissile
driver for a fleet of breeding AHWRs. An alternative
stage 3 is molten salt breeder reactors (MSBR),
which are believed to be another possible
option for eventual large-scale deployment.In
June 2014, Kudankulam-1 became the single
largest power generating unit in India (1000
MWe).
== Nuclear power plants ==
Currently, twenty-two nuclear power reactors
have a total install capacity of 6,780 MW
(3.5% of total installed base).
Note: Some sites may be abandoned if not found
technically feasible or due to strategic,
geopolitical, international and domestic issues.
The details of the nuclear power generation
capacity in the country are given below :
== Anti-nuclear protests ==
Following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear
disaster in Japan, populations around proposed
Indian NPP sites have launched protests that
had found resonance around the country. There
have been mass protests against the French-backed
9,900 MW Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project in
Maharashtra and the Russian-backed 2,000 MW
Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu.
The Government of West Bengal initially refused
permission to a proposed 6,000 MW facility
near the town of Haripur that intended to
host 6 Russian reactors. But after stiff resistance
from locals, the proposed Nuclear Power Plant
planned in Haripur has been shifted to Kavali
in Andhra Pradesh. Interestingly, the Nuclear
Power Plant planned at Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh
was shifted from Mithi Virdi in Gujarat after
locals in the Western state too showed resistance.A
Public-interest litigation (PIL) has also
been filed against the government’s civil
nuclear program at the Supreme Court. The
PIL specifically asks for the "staying of
all proposed nuclear power plants till satisfactory
safety measures and cost-benefit analyses
are completed by independent agencies". But
the Supreme Court said it was not an expert
in the nuclear field to issue a direction
to the government on the nuclear liability
issue.
== See also ==
Economics of new nuclear power plants
Energy policy of India
Electricity sector in India
India's three-stage nuclear power programme
== 
References ==
