send mail to support@abhimanu.com mentioning your email id and mobileno registered with us! if details not recieved
Resend Opt after 60 Sec.
By Loging in you agree to Terms of Services and Privacy Policy
Please specify
Please verify your mobile number
Login not allowed, Please logout from existing browser
Please update your name
Subscribe to Notifications
Stay updated with the latest Current affairs and other important updates regarding video Lectures, Test Schedules, live sessions etc..
Your Free user account at abhipedia has been created.
Remember, success is a journey, not a destination. Stay motivated and keep moving forward!
Refer & Earn
Enquire Now
My Abhipedia Earning
Kindly Login to view your earning
Support
India's nuclear program was conceived in the pre-independence era by a small group of influential scientists, notably Homi Bhabha, who grasped the significance of nuclear energy and persuaded political leaders to invest resources in the nuclear sector. Dr. Homi Bhaba devised India's three-stage nuclear power program in the 1954 to provide energy security to India. The main aim was to capitalize on India’s vase thorium reserves while accounting for its low uranium reserves. India has only about 2% of the global uranium reserves but 25% of the world’s thorium reserves.
The first stage involved using natural uranium to fuel Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors to produce electricity and producing plutonium-239 as a byproduct. Using Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors rather than Light Water Reactors was the best choice for India given its infrastructure. While Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors used unenriched uranium, Light Water Reactors required enriched uranium. Also, the components of PWHR could be domestically manufactured in India, as opposed to LWRs, which would need some components to be imported. Furthermore the byproduct plutonium-293 would be used in the second stage.
The second stage involves using plutonium-239 to produce mixed-oxide fuel, which would be used in Fast Breeder Reactors. These reactors have two processes. Firstly plutonium 293 undergoes fission to produce energy, and metal oxide is reacted with enriched uranium reacts with mixed-oxide fuel to produce more plutonium-239. Furthermore once a sufficient amount of plutonium-239 is built up, thorium will be used in the reactor, to produce Uranium-233. This uranium is crucial for the third stage.
The main purpose of stage-3 is to achieve a sustainable nuclear fuel cycle. The advance nuclear system would be used a combination of Uranium-233 and Thorium. Thus India's vast thorium would be exploited, using a thermal breeder reactor. Currently this stage is still in the research stage. Thus India is looking to simultaneously using its thorium in other technologies. The options include Accelerator Driven Systems (ADS), Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) and Compact High Temperature Reactor (CHTR).
India’s Atomic Energy programme has been a mission-oriented comprehensive programme with a long-term focus. From its inception the guiding principle of this programme has been self-reliance through the utilization of domestic mineral resources, and building up capability to face possible restrictions in international technology and the exchange of resources. The events of the last 50 years have, in fact, validated this approach. Indian concerns and priorities are quite unique. For its long-term energy security India has no option but to deploy nuclear power according to a strategy precisely tuned to its needs and resources.
By: Dr. Vivek Rana ProfileResourcesReport error
Access to prime resources