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GS F233 Assignment
Topic: Nuclear Power Policy in India
Looking back to the time when India attained independence in 1947, we find
that according to the Central Electricity Authority(CEA), the total annual
electricity production in India was about 1362 MW with none of the villages
electrified and with a per capita consumption of 16.3KWh! (which is
approximately our daily consumption today). India was in a desperate need for a
large scale increment of annual power generation. Of the 1362 MW, 854 MW
came from thermal power plants and remaining 508 from hydro power plants.
Coal reserves were limited and it was known that setting up of hydro plants
required about 200-500 hectares of land and any problem with the dam would
cause intense flooding of nearby areas. The Government then decided to form
the Department of Atomic Energy(formed in the year 1954) for development
of nuclear power technology, applications of radiation technologies in the fields
of agriculture, medicine, industry and basic research. With the enormous power
generated in these plants, India has also been placed among the countries
possessing nuclear weapons, which in my opinion is a strong political weapon
as it provides more political space and deterrence along with war-fighting
capabilities.
Objectives of the Nuclear Power Policy in India
The NPCIL (Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd.) controls the setting up of
nuclear power plants in India, based on the three-stage nuclear power
program formulated by Dr Homi.J.Bhabha during the 1950s. The Ultimate
focus of the program was to make maximum use of Indias Uranium and
Thorium reserves in monazite sands of coastal regions in South India.
Stage I: Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor: In the first stage of the
programme, natural uranium fuelled pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR)
produce electricity while generating plutonium-239 as by-product. PHWRs was
a natural choice for implementing the first stage because it had the most
efficient reactor design in terms of uranium utilisation, and the existing Indian
infrastructure in the 1960s allowed for quick adoption of the PHWR technology.
(Source: en.wikipedia.org)
Stage II: Fast Breeder Reactor: Fast breeder reactors (FBRs) would use
a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel made from plutonium-239, recovered by
reprocessing spent fuel from the first stage.
128 times of the energy produced by that of the first stage can be achieved, with
this technology. The country proposed to undertake the construction of four
FBRs as part of the 12th Five Year Plan spanning 201217, thus targeting 2500
MW from the five reactors.
Stage -III: Thorium Based Reactors : A Stage III reactor or an Advanced nuclear
power system involves a self-sustaining series of thorium-232-uranium-
233 fuelled reactors. According to the three-stage programme, Indian nuclear
energy could grow to about 10 GW through PHWRs fuelled by domestic
uranium, and the growth above that would have to come from FBRs till about
50GW. The Third stage is to be deployed only after this capacity is attained.
According to replies given in Q&A in the Indian Parliament on two separate
occasions, 19 August 2010 and 21 March 2012, large scale thorium deployment
is only to be expected "3 4 decades after the commercial operation of fast
breeder reactors with short doubling time". Full exploitation of Indias domestic
thorium reserves will likely not occur until after the year 2050. (Source:
en.wikipedia.org).
Policy Analysis
In terms of its efficiency: -
Advantages of setting up Nuclear Power Plants over other power plants
It does not emit any greenhouse gases (virtually pollution free) - Unlike
fossil fuel-fired power plants, nuclear reactors do not produce air
pollution or carbon dioxide while operating (Source: www.eia.gov)
Use of coal in thermal power plants produces fly ash a major cause for
asthma and premature deaths among those who live near the plants.
NASA calculates that sulphur dioxide emissions from power plants in
India increased by more than 60 percent between 2005 and 2012, based
on satellite data.
Less amount of nuclear fuel is capable of producing enormous amounts
of energy (Highly Energy efficient). Thus, even though the set-up and
costs for its maintenance, safety and security are high, the recurring cost
is meagre compared to other sources of energy. Some Facts: 1) Power
Tariff of TAPS (Tarapur Atomic Power Station) is 94 paise per KWh and
for RAPS (Rawatbhata Atomic Power Station) is 302 paise per KWh,
which is estimated to reduce further with advancing technology (Source:
DAE Public Awareness Division), whereas Power tariff of imported coal
based power plants is significantly higher, and is sensitive to rate
movements (base price, exchange rate, shipping). Moreover, Indias coal
 reserves have low quality coal and are depleting quickly, so about 40,000
crores is spent annually for importing high quality coal. 2) Fuel required
for Thermal Plants 2.6 million tons per year with transportation
requirement of 5 trains loaded with 1400 tons of coal every day. For
nuclear power plants, only 160 tons of fuel per year is required involving
transportation requirement of 16 trucks per year. (Source DAE Public
Awareness Division). 3) 1MU of electricity requires approximately 700
tons of coal, and only 27 Kg of Uranium that might reduce even more
with the advancing technology.
India has the worlds third largest supplies of Thorium. More energy is
produced for the case of thorium based reactors, when compared to that
of others. Also limited radioactive debris is produced when Thorium is
used. So in terms of chemical stability and resistance to radioactivity, It is
a much safer alternative. It has greater abundance in earth, compared to
other fuels like Uranium and Plutonium. According to Dr R K Sinha,
chairman of their Atomic Energy Commission, "This will reduce our
dependence on fossil fuels, mostly imported, and will be a major
contribution to global efforts to combat climate change." Because of its
inherent safety, they expect that similar designs could be set up "within"
populated cities, like Mumbai or Delhi. The Government is also
developing up to 62, mostly thorium reactors, which it expects to be
operational by 2025 and India has projected meeting as much as 30% of
its electrical demands through thorium by 2050, which is currently 2% of
total power production.

In terms of its effectiveness: -

After decades of operating pressurised heavy-water reactors (PHWR),
India is finally ready to start the second stage. A 500 MW Prototype Fast
Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam is set to achieve criticality any
day now and four more fast breeder reactors have been sanctioned, two at
the same site and two elsewhere. Thus, two of the three major goals of the
policy have been achieved and the associated technology is already in
use. Indian Nuclear power program, visualized by Dr. Bhabha in early
fifties has been developed and successfully deployed with indigenous
efforts. Thus, placing the country in elite club of countries possessing
advanced Nuclear technology. According to DAE, the evolution and
development of commercial Nuclear technology in the country has passed
through several technological revolutions. While developing and
implementing the nuclear power program, the Indian industry capability
in manufacturing and supply of high precision and specialized equipment
has also been developed comparable to international standards. Excellent
Human Resource and training infrastructure has been developed for the
specialized skills needed for nuclear power. At present 17 reactors with a
capacity of 4120 MWe are in operation and six with a capacity of 3160
MWe are under construction.

In terms of being fair: -

Although Nuclear Energy is pollution free cost effective and efficiently
harnessed with best technologies, there have been certain safety related
debates about whether or not to promote nuclear power plants. Recently,
the construction of the Koodankulam power plant had been opposed by
people living nearby.
People displaced due to plant construction were misled by false promises
like 10,000 jobs, water from Pechiparai dam in Kanyakumari district, and
fantastic development of the region.
More than 1 million people live within the 30 km radius of the KKNPP
which far exceeds the AERB (Atomic Energy Regulatory Board)
stipulations (Source: www.dianuke.org/). It is quite impossible to
evacuate this many number of people quickly and efficiently in case of a
nuclear disaster at Koodankulam.
Moreover, places in the proximity of the nuclear power plant are more
susceptible for radioactive contamination of air, soil, water etc.
There have been international concerns about the design, structure and
workings of the untested Russian-made VVER-1000 reactors.
For the other sections of the society, these plants are designed for
harnessing the latest technology in nuclear power production, so it
contributes to scope of increment of the per-capita consumption of
electricity. The increase in per-capita consumption of electricity, in my
opinion is an important way of seeing the overall development of any
country.
So, ensuring proper safety, security measures, proper management of
nuclear waste, evacuation of households present near the reactor and
provision of alternative livelihoods to the displaced are looked after, can
confirm the success of the policy as well as the development of the
country.
The fruition of international cooperation will open up a plethora of
opportunities in export of nuclear goods, equipment and services. The
Indian nuclear power sector and industry needs to evolve faster to meet
the associated challenges.
Nitish Ravishankar
ID: 2015A7PS152H