Scientific and Technological Developments

ONGOING PROJECTS

  • A total capacity of 5300 megawatt is under construction. It comprises four PHWRS of 700 MWe each at Kakparar (Gujarat) and Rawatbhata (Rajasthan), two Pressurised Water Reactors (PWEs) of 1000 MWe each at Kudankulam and one 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam.

 NEW PROJECTS

  • The Government of India has accorded ‘in principle’, approval for five green field sites including two inland sites (Kumharia, Haryana and Bargi, Madhya Pradesh) for setting up six 700 MWe indigenous PHWRs and 3 coastal sites (Haripur, West Bengal, Mithi Virdi, Gujarat and Kovvada, Andhra Pradesh) for setting up eighteen 1000 MWe or larger size Light Water Reactors (LWRs) based on international co-operation.
  • Another such site at Jaitapur in Maharashtra was approved by the Indian Government earlier.
  • All these are steps towards reaching an installed nuclear power capacity of more than 60 GWe by 2032.

NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE

  • The Front-End of this Cycle includes mineral exploration, mining and processing of ore, and fuel fabrication.
  • Reprocessing of spent uranium fuel and management of nuclear waste form part of the Back-End of the Cycle.
  • This includes production of heavy water that is used as moderator and coolant in PHWR.
  • The DAE organizations contributing to the Front-End of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Programme are:
  1. Atomic Minerals Directorate for Research and Exploration (AMD), Hyderabad
  2. Uranium Corporation of India Ltd. (UCIL), Jaduguda (Jharkhand)
  3. Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), Hyderabad
  4. Heavy Water Board (HWB), Mumbai
  • BARC and IGCAR administer the Back-End of the Cycle.
  • The Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) is engaged in survey, exploration and evaluation of resources of uranium, thorium, niobium, tantalum, beryllium, zirconium, lithium, yttrium and rare earth elements required for the indigenous atomic energy programme of the country.
  • Over the years, uranium deposits have been located at:
  • Jaduguda, Bhatin, Narwapahar, Turamdih (East and South), Banduhuran (Turamdih West), Central Keruadungri, Bagjata, Kanyaluka, Mohuldih and Nandup in Jharkhand;
  • Domiasiat and Wahkyn in Meghalaya;
  • Lambapur-Peddagattu, Koppunuru and Tummalapalle in Andhra Pradesh
  • Cogi in Karnataka and Rohil in Rajasthan
  • The exploratory efforts of AMD, made earlier, had led to the opening of four underground uranium mines are located at Jaduguda, Bhatin, Narwapahar and Turamdih all in Singbhum (East), Jharkhand state.
  • A new open cast mine was also commissioned at Banduhurang in Singbhum in 2007.
  • These mines, being operated by the Uranium Corporation of India Ltd. (UCIL), a public sector undertaking of DAB.
  • The research and development in the field of ore processing and uranium metal production is done at
  • A uranium metal production facility for production of uranium ingot operates at Trombay.
  • Nuclear fuel fabrication for power reactors and research reactors is done respectively at the Nuclear Fuel Complex, Hyderabad, and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
  • The Indian PHWR uses natural uranium-based
  • A major milestone was achieved with the fabrication of the first fuel element at Trombay in 1959.
  • For industrial scale manufacture of nuclear fuel assemblies and zircaloy structural components for power reactors, the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) was set up on Hyderabad in 1971.
  • BARC has set up the Advanced Fuel Fabrication Facility (AFFF) at Tarapur.
  • Titanium half alloy hydraulic tubes are critical components in Light Combat Aircraft.
  • The Heavy Water Board (HWB) of DAE is responsible for building and operating heavy water plants in the country. The Board has 7 heavy water plants in the country.
  • It has a Pilot Plant for fuel reprocessing at Trombay and industrial scale plants at Tarapur and
  • The radioactive wates generated at various stages of nuclear fuel cycle are fixed in a glass matrix.
  • Vitrification, a complex technology possessed by a few nations only, has been successfully developed at Trombay.
  • Based on this technology, two Waste Immobilisation Plants (WIPs) have been opereating at Tarapur and Trombay.
  • A facility for the immobilisation of waste in a cement matrix has been commissioned at
  • BARC has constructed an Advanced Vitrification System at Tarapur for high level waste immobilisation based on Joule Melter Technology.
  • India has become one of the six countries who have developed the Joule Heated Ceramic Mixer (JHCM) and set up such facilities for vitrification of high level waste.
  • Vitrified waste is stored in a specially designed Solid Storage Surveillance Facility (SSSF) for about 30 years prior to its disposal in deep geological formation. The first such facility has been in operation at Tarapur since 1999.
  • The know-how and the products developed at Trombay in the area of electronics have led to the setting up of the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL) at Hyderabad in 1967. The company pioneered the electronics and computer revolution in India.
  • During 70s & 80s, ECIL led the television revolution in country by bringing out indigenous black & white and colour television
  • ECIL, through its software expertise, has contributed to automation in the banking sector, control room and dial-100 automation for the police etc.
UPSC Prelims 2025 Notes