Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your knowledge nugget for today. Knowledge Nugget: Three-stage Nuclear Programme of India Subject: Science and Technology (Relevance: In 2017, a Mains question was asked to give an account of India's growth and development of nuclear science and technology. What is the advantage of the fast breeder reactor (FBR) programme in India? Three-stage nuclear programs and FBR are very important for the government to become self-sufficient in energy production and reduce carbon emissions. Hence, this becomes a very important topic applicable across GS papers and Essay.) Why in the news? A fiery exchange erupted in Rajya Sabha when Congress MP Jairam Ramesh questioned the progress of Homi J. Bhabha's second—and third-phase nuclear modules to the Minister of Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh. The questions were raised about the progress of phase 2 of the nuclear programme of India, the status of the fast breeder reactor in Kalpakkam, and the plans for setting up thorium reactors for Phase 3. In today's Knowledge Nugget, let's examine India's three-stage nuclear programme and the role of the FBRs. Key Takeaways: 1. India’s nuclear journey began shortly after Independence with the establishment of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1948. In 1956, Asia’s first research reactor, Apsara, was commissioned at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Trombay. 2. India was the second Asian nation to build a nuclear power plant in 1969 at Tarapur, just after Japan and long before China. It also built up an impressive nuclear research and development programme in the 1950s and 1960s with significant assistance from its Western partners. 3. India owes the vision of the three-phase programme of nuclear power to ensure energy security to Dr Homi J Bhabha, the father of India’s nuclear programme, and Dr Vikram Sarabhai, who recognised the need for developing FBRs, as these reactors generate more nuclear fuel than they consume due to the gainful conversion of fertile isotopes into fissile material. Three-stage nuclear programme → STAGE 1: Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) use natural uranium-based fuels to generate electricity, while producing fissile plutonium (Pu239), which can be extracted by reprocessing the spent fuel. It uses heavy water (deuterium oxide) both as a coolant and moderator. The programme has been supplemented by the construction of imported Light Water Reactors (LWRs). → STAGE 2: It involves setting up Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) of the kind at Kalpakkam, using plutonium-based fuels, which can enhance nuclear power capacity, and convert fertile thorium into fissile uranium (U233). Reprocessing of the spent fuel is vital for efficient utilisation of the plutonium inventory. → STAGE 3: The third stage will be based on the ThU233 cycle. U233 produced in the second stage can be used for the third stage of the power programme, which consists of advanced thermal and fast breeder reactors, for long-term energy security. The Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) is proposed for this. Now, the use of molten salt reactors is also seen as an option. From ‘fertile’ to ‘fissile’, what does it mean? 4. The three stages involve the conversion of ‘fertile material’ (which is not fissionable by thermal neutrons but can be converted into fissile material) into fissile material. 5. U238, the dominant isotope of uranium, is a fertile material that cannot by itself make the reactor achieve criticality, and has to be converted to fissile plutonium (Pu239) in a nuclear reactor. The spent fuel from thermal reactors contains Pu239, which is most efficiently burnt in a fast reactor. 6. Thorium-bearing monazite, too, is a fertile material that has to be converted to fissile material U233. It is found in coastal and inland placer sands on the beaches of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, and in the inland riverine sands of Jharkhand and West Bengal. India holds a significant portion of the world's thorium reserves, estimated at around 25 per cent. 7. India has adopted a “closed fuel cycle” approach, which involves the reprocessing of spent fuel to separate the useful Pu239 and U233 isotopes from U238 and Th232. To multiply the fissile inventory and to gradually work towards establishing a higher power base, it is key to ultimately use thorium in the third stage of the programme. India's FBR The FBR is an important milestone for getting to the third stage, paving the way for the eventual full utilisation of the country’s thorium. The core loading process of India's first indigenous Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, has started in March 2024. The efforts to build an FBR were initiated two decades ago, and successive governments have nurtured the project as a step towards India developing comprehensive capabilities that span the entire nuclear fuel cycle, by which electricity is produced from uranium in nuclear power reactors. Core loading is the process of placing nuclear fuel assemblies inside the core of a nuclear reactor. BEYOND THE NUGGET: Nuclear Energy Mission 1. The government has set a target of 100 GW nuclear power capacity by 2047, a massive increase from the current 8.18 GW. To achieve this, the Nuclear Energy Mission for Viksit Bharat has been launched, focusing on enhancing domestic capabilities. It is also important for realising the Panchamrit climate action plan (Five Nectar) set by India at COP 21. 2. In the Budget 2025, the government announced the Nuclear Energy Mission worth ₹20,000 crore for research and development of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), and promised that at least five such indigenously developed SMRs would be operationalised by 2033. 3. SMRs are essentially advanced small nuclear reactors that have a power capacity of 30MWe to 300 MWe (megawatt electrical) per unit. The relatively simpler and modular design of SMRs—enabling their components to be assembled in a factory instead of being constructed on-site—lowers costs and allows flexible deployment, making them a much more attractive proposition in recent years. Post read question (1) Consider the following statements: 1. Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) are envisioned as the third stage of India's three-stage nuclear programme. 2. Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) use heavy water (deuterium oxide) as a coolant. 3. Thorium-bearing monazite is an example of fissile material. How many of the above statements is/are incorrect? (a) Only one (b) Only two (c) All three (d) None (2) India is an important member of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor’. If this experiment succeeds, what is the immediate advantage for India? (UPSC CSE 2016) (a) It can use thorium in place of uranium for power generation (b) It can attain a global role in satellite navigation (c) It can drastically improve the efficiency of its fission reactors in power generation (d) It can build fusion reactors for power generation Answer key 1. (b) 2. (d) Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X. 🚨 Click Here to read the UPSC Essentials magazine for March 2025. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com🚨
