Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

India’s nuclear power program: a critical review

  • Published:
Sādhanā Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Global carbon emissions have been rising sharply since the start of the 20th century, and countries have adopted various policies in recent years to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in different sectors. Nuclear energy is one energy source that is least polluting with minimum GHG emissions. India’s nuclear power programme started with Heavy water reactors in the first stage followed by Fast Reactors in the second stage. Third stage of Thorium utilisation is yet to start. The deployment of Pu/depleted U from Heavy water reactors in fast reactors would help in the effective utilisation of the indigenous uranium resources to a large extent besides reducing the waste. The thorium technology to obtain uranium 233 is equally important as India possesses large amounts of thorium deposits. With sufficient U233 we can provide a significant long-term solution to fuel our nuclear reactors to produce electricity needed for its development. Linked to the nuclear programme is the availability of fuel, ability to reprocess the spent fuel and manage the wastes. India’s waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group and its agreement with the global atomic energy body, IAEA, have resulted in limited breakthroughs in the nuclear sector in the last decade and allowed the import of fuel. This paper undertakes a review of the different steps taken by India in the nuclear arena and makes a realistic assessment of its current nuclear power programme.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

GHG:

Greenhouse emissions

IAEA:

International Atomic Energy Agency

DAE:

Department of Atomic Energy India

PHWR:

Pressurised heavy water reactor

RAPS:

Rajasthan Atomic Power Station

PWR:

Pressurised water reactor

BWR:

Boiling water reactor

SFR:

Sodium fast reactor

CANDU:

Canada Deutrium

RBMK:

Reaktor Bolshoy Moshchnosty Kanalny

GCR:

Gas cooled reactor

FBR:

Fast breeder reactor

VVER:

Vodo-Vodyanoi Energetichesky Reaktor

EBR-1:

Experimental breeder reactor I

AEC:

Atomic Energy Commission

AEET:

Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay

BARC:

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre

FBTR:

Fast breeder test reactor

AECL:

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited

PNE:

Peaceful nuclear explosion

MOX:

Mixed oxide

MAPS:

Madras Atomic Power Station

NFC:

Nuclear fuel complex

KAPS:

Kakrapar Atomic Power Station

NAPS:

Narora Atomic Power Station

TAPS:

Tarapur Atomic Power Station

NPCIL:

Nuclear Power Corporation of India

KAMINI:

Kalpakkam mini reactor

PFBR:

Prototype fast breeder reactor

CORAL:

Compact reprocessing of advanced fuel

FRFCF:

Fast reactor fuel cycle facility

MSR:

Molten salt reactor

AHWR:

Advanced heavy water reactor

EPR:

Evolutionary power reactor

AERB:

Atomic Energy Regulatory Board

MOEF:

Ministry of Environment and Forests

IDC:

Interest during construction

References

  1. Iyer M R 2020 The Saga of Atomic Energy in India- Why is Nuclear Power still Subcritical? Authors Press, Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  2. Sarma N and Banerjee B 2008 Nuclear Power in India: A Critical History. Rupa & Co., Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  3. Hart D 1983 Nuclear Power in India: A Comparative Analysis. George Allen & Unwin, London. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429278303

    Book  Google Scholar 

  4. Bhardwaj SA 2013 Indian nuclear power programme—Past, present, and future, S ̄adhan ̄a 38: Part 5, pp. 775–794

  5. Kale R D 2020 India’s fast reactor programme—A review and critical assessment. Progress Nuclear Energy 122: 103265

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Vaidyanathan G and Purniah B 2020 Energy, and Environment- from Cradle to Grave. Yes Dee Publishing, Chennai

    Google Scholar 

  7. Grover RB 2006 Role of Nuclear Energy in India’s Energy Mix, IANCAS Bulletin, April

  8. Uwe R Fritsche et al., Energy and Land Use, September 2017, International renewable energy Agency IRENA& UN Convention to Combat, desertification, http://iinas.org/tl_files/iinas/downloads/land/IINAS_2017_UNCCD-IRENA_Energy-Land_paper.pdf

  9. Neumeyer C and Goldston R 2016 Dynamic EROI Assessment of the IPCC 21st Century Electricity Production Scenario Sustainability 2016, 8, 421. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8050421

  10. IAEA-TECDOC-892, Comparison of Energy Sources in Terms of Their Full-Energy-Chain Emission Factors of Greenhouse Gases, IAEA, Vienna, 1996

  11. Nuclear Electricity Generation: What Are the External Costs? OECD, NEA4372, Nuclear Energy Agency, 2003. https://www.oecd-nea.org/jcms/pl_13756/nuclear-electricity-generation-what-are-the-external-costs?details=true

  12. IAEA 2006 Nuclear Power Reactors in the World, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Austria, Vienna

    Google Scholar 

  13. Balachandran G and Kapil Patil K 2012 Nuclear Power Plant and Civil Nuclear Liability, Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, Delhi

  14. Shah JC et al. 1977 Experience from the Construction and Operation of Tarapur and Rajasthan Nuclear Power Station" [IAEA-CN-36/360 (VII.3)], Salzburg Conference

  15. Sundaram CV, Krishnan LV and Iyengar TS 1998 Atomic energy in India: 50 years. Department of Atomic Energy, New Delhi

  16. Agreement for cooperation between the Government of India and the Government of United States of America concerning peaceful uses of nuclear energy (2007). http://www.meaindia.nic.in/pressrelease/2007/08/03pr01.pdf

  17. Sarma MSR, Sah BML and Subbaratnam T 1981 Dousing incident at RAPS Unit I, Regional seminar for Asia and the Pacific Region—radiation emergency preparedness (health physics and medical aspects), Kalpakkam, India, 30 Nov 1981

  18. Sinha RK et al 2010 Plant life management (PLIM) practices for pressurised heavy water nuclear reactors (PHWR) in understanding and mitigating ageing in nuclear power plants Materials and operational aspects of plant life management (PLIM), Edited by Philip G. Tipping, Wood Head Publishing, pp. 739–794

  19. Grover R B and Srinivasan M R 2020 Vikram Sarabhai: his vision for the development of atomic energy in India. Curr. Sci. 118(8): 1191–1195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Bharadwaj A, Krishnan LV and Rajagopal S 2017 Nuclear viewpoint in India, MRS energy & sustainability: a review. J. Mater. Res. Soc., 4, Article number: 6

  21. Sharma S and Mukherjee SP 2009 A Dream Comes True- The Saga of Heavy Water Production in India, Heavy Water Board, Mumbai

  22. Bhasin V, Kushwaha HS and Kakodkar A 2011 Failure Analysis of MAPS Inlet Manifold. In Transactions of the 11th International Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology, Tokyo

  23. Kakodkar A 2019 Fire and Fury Rupa publications, 2019, P49 & 53

  24. Sundarrajan AR, Parthasarathy KS and Sinha S 2008 Atomic Energy Regulatory Board- 25 years of Safety Regulation. https://www.aerb.gov.in/images/PDF/Silver_Jubilee_Book/SJBook.pdf0

  25. Murugan S et al. 2013 Irradiation testing of zirconium alloys and stainless steel in fast breeder test reactor, India. In Effects of Radiation on Nuclear Materials: 25th Volume, ed. T. Yamamoto, M. Sokolov, and B. Hanson (West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International), pp. 176–191

  26. www.npcil.co.in

  27. https://www.iaea.org/resources/databases/power-reactor-information-system-pris

  28. Basu P C and Gupchup V N 2004 Safety evaluation of rehabilitation of delaminated containment dome. Nucl. Eng. Des. 228: 195–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Rajamani N 2017 Reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel in India: present challenges and future programme. Prog. Nucl. Energy 101: 118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Manoharan N, Suresh Kumar KV and Srinivasan G 2011 Fifteen years of operating experience of Kamini Reactor, IAEA

  31. Tongia R and Arunachalam V S 1998 India’s nuclear breeders: Technology, viability and options. Curr. Sci. 75(6): 549

    Google Scholar 

  32. RaoKR2001, Radioactive waste: the problem and its management. Curr. Sci. 81(12): 25

  33. www.nuclear-power.net

  34. Nagarajan K et al. 2011 Development of pyrochemical reprocessing for spent metal fuels. Energy Procedia 7: 431

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Jess CG 2015 History of the ORNL molten salt program. In Workshop on Molten Salt Reactor Technologies, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  36. Paranjpe SR 1998 Fast Breeder Reactor Development in India (unpublished)

  37. Vijayan P K 2015 Conceptual design of Indian molten salt breeder reactor. Pramana J. Phys. 85(3): 539

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Nayak AK et al. 2019 Thorium technology development in an Indian perspective. In Thorium—Energy for the Future, A. K. Nayak and B. R. Sehgal (eds.), Springer Nature

  39. Kakodkar A et al. 2019 Nuclear Power: India’s Development Imperative, Report Vivekananda International Foundation, Delhi

  40. Grover R B 2017 The civil liability for nuclear damage act of India: An engineering perspective regarding Supplier’s liability. Prog. Nucl. Energy 101: 168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Grover R B and Puri R R 2013 Development of human resources for Indian nuclear power programme. Sadhana 38(5): 1051–1064

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Bajaj S S 2013 Regulatory practices for nuclear power plants in India. Sadhana 38(5): 1027–1050

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Mishra L 1999 India's Quest for Technological Self- Reliance, PhD Thesis, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi

  44. Lok Sabha Secretariat 1994 Ninth Report Standing Committee on Energy, Department of Atomic Energy Demands for Grants (1994-95) Presented to Parliament

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (Formerly), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 603210, India

    G Vaidyanathan

  2. Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (Formerly), Pune, Maharashtra, 411038, India

    R D Kale

Authors
  1. G Vaidyanathan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R D Kale
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to G Vaidyanathan.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Vaidyanathan, G., Kale, R.D. India’s nuclear power program: a critical review. Sādhanā 47, 181 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12046-022-01953-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12046-022-01953-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation