● Apex Body is "Atomic Energy Commission".
● To regulate the functioning of Atomic Energy in India, there is "Atomic Energy Regulatory Board" which
is an independent body.
● Then Comes the "Department of Atomic Energy". It includes :-
➢ R & D Organisations (6).
➢ PSUs (5).
➢ Industrial Facilities (3).
➢ Aided Institutions (10). [These Institutions are mainly private but they function with the help of the
Government].
● Jitendra Singh → Minister of State in the Department of Space and Department of Atomic Energy.
R & D Organisations :-
1. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai :-
● Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha was the first person to talk about Atomic Energy in India.
He also established Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in 1945 in Mumbai.
● To intensify the effort to exploit nuclear energy for the benefit of the nation, Dr
Bhabha established the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET) in January
1954 for a multidisciplinary research program essential for the ambitious nuclear
program of India.
● After the sad demise of Bhabha in 1966, AEET was renamed Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
● Research Reactors in BARC -
➢ APSARA -
■ It was the first nuclear reactor in Asia. Built on 4th August 1956.
■ Its name was given by Jawaharlal Nehru.
■ It was a pool type reactor of 1 MW power with a highly enriched uranium as fuel (4.5 kg) in
the form of plates. Mixture of Aluminium and Uranium was used in this reactor.
■ Apsara was permanently shut down in 2010.
■ The refurbished version of this reactor has been named as ‘Apsara-upgraded’ (Apsara-U) and
also has double capacity compared to the old one.
■ Uranium, Plutonium or Thorium can be used in Nuclear Reactors.
■ Many developed Countries like the USA use Stage 3 Nuclear Reactors but India still uses till
Stage 2.
➢ CIRUS reactor -
■ 2
nd nuclear reactor to be built in India.
■ It was given to India by Canada in 1954 but was commissioned in 1960.
■ Maximum Uranium in the World → 1. Kazakhstan, 2. Canada, 3. Australia.
■ India has the maximum amount of Thorium in the World.
■ Its capacity was 40MW. It used heavy water (deuterium oxide D2O) supplied by the United
States.
➢ ZERLINA -
■ It was India's third research reactor. It was indigenously built but used U.S.-supplied heavy
water (D2O) as a moderator and coolant. Uranium was used as fuel in this.
■ The reactor burned natural uranium fuel rods to produce a nominal power output of 100 watts.
The reactor was decommissioned and dismantled in 1983. It was not safe either.
➢ DHRUVA was conceived in the 1970s out of the need for a research reactor with higher neutron flux
for research in basic sciences in addition to a growing demand of radioisotopes and advances.
Dhruva name was given by Giani Zail Singh (former President).
➢ PURNIMA-I (1972) was the first experimental fast reactor built in BARC with Plutonium Oxide as the
fuel.
➢ PURNIMA-II (1984) was 100 mW experimental thermal reactor in BARC achieved criticality on May
10, 1984.
➢ PURNIMA-III (1990) was another U-233 based 1 W thermal reactor built in BARC. P in PURNIMA
stands for 'Plutonium'.
● Three stages of India’s nuclear power generation -
➢ STAGE 1 – Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor using Natural UO2 as fuel matrix Heavy water as
moderator and Uranium is used.
➢ STAGE 2 » Fast Breeder Reactor. India’s second stage of nuclear power generation envisages the
use of Pu-239 obtained from the first stage reactor operation, as the fuel core in fast breeder
reactors (FBR). Plutonium is used.
➢ STAGE 3 » Breeder Reactor The third phase of India’s Nuclear Power Generation programme is,
breeder reactors using U-233 fuel. India’s vast thorium deposits permit design and operation of
U-233 fuelled breeder reactors.
➢ Product of every stage is used as fuel in the next stage. When we burn Uranium in Stage 1, we get
Plutonium which can be used in Stage 2. And when we burn Pu-239 in Stage 2 we get U-233 as
product that can be used in Stage 3 as fuel.
➢ Russia has built the 1st floating power plant named "Akademik Lomonosov".
● Memorial for Dr Homi Bhabha built by Indian Government in Nid d’Aigle, Eagle’s nest in Mount Mont
Blanc, where he Died in Air India plane crash 1966.
● Uranium is of two types 'U235' and 'U238', We
have to convert U238 to U235 (enrichment
process) because U235 can be used as fuel in
Nuclear Reactors.
● When Neutron is bombarded on Uranium-235, it
breaks into Barium, Krypton and Neutrons, this
is a kind of chain reaction and it releases a very
large amount of energy. This is a Nuclear Bomb.
● This reaction can be controlled with the use of
heavy water (D2O).
● Nuclear Energy is considered a clean energy.
2. Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam.
● Established – 1971.
● KAMINI is a 30 kW World’s first neutron source reactor in Indira Gandhi Centre for
Atomic Research, Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu).
● This reactor uses Uranium-233 as fuel. When Uranium-233 is burnt in Phase 3, we get
Uranium-233 as a product in this reaction.
3. Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), Indore.
● Non-nuclear front line research areas of Lasers, Particle Accelerators & related
technologies.
● At this organisation, work is being done on Particle Accelerator and LASER.
4. Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC), Kolkata.
● Here a 224 cm Cyclotron is established and It provides proton, deuteron, alpha particle
and heavy ion beams of various energies to other institutions.
5. Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), Hyderabad.
6. Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP), Bahadurgarh, Haryana.
Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) :-
1. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), Mumbai.
2. The Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI), Chennai.
3. Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Hyderabad.
4. Indian Rare Earths Limited, Mumbai.
5. Uranium Corporation of India, Singhbhum, Jharkhand.
1. NPCIL :-
● It was created in September 1987 under the Companies Act 1956, "with the objective of
undertaking the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the atomic power
stations for generation of electricity in pursuance of the schemes and programmes of the
Government of India under the provision of the Atomic Energy Act 1962.
● NPCIL was the sole body responsible for constructing and operating India's commercial
nuclear power plants till setting up of BHAVINI Vidyut Nigam) in October 2003.
● There are mainly 7 working nuclear power plants in India currently. And Total 21 Units are
working currently in India.
● India is generating around 7000 MW power only with these working units currently. It is only 3% of total
electricity production in India. And Electricity Production from Coal is around 60-65% currently which is
very bad for India. As we want to to move towards clean energy as soon as possible.
● India's Nuclear Power Plants :-
➢ Kumharia (Haryana).
➢ Narora (Uttar Pradesh).
➢ Rawatbhata (Rajasthan).
➢ Chutka (Madhya Pradesh).
➢ Kokrapar (Gujarat).
➢ Haripur (West Bengal).
➢ Tarapur (Maharashtra). "Recently completed 50 years in 2019".
➢ Jaitapur (Maharashtra).
➢ Kovvada (Andhra Pradesh).
➢ Kaiga (Karnataka). "Kaiga made a world record of continuously working for 941 days".
➢ Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu). "Also known as Madras Atomic Power Plant".
➢ Kundankulam (Tamil Nadu).
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