Nuclear power in India
Several Indian physicists, notably Daulat Singh Kothari, Meghnad Saha, Homi J. Bhabha and R. S. Krishnan, conducted pioneering research in nuclear physics in Europe during the 1930s.[12] In the same year, the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust sanctioned funds for installing a cyclotron at the University of Calcutta, but various difficulties likely related to the war delayed the project.Krishnan, a nuclear physicist who had studied under Norman Feather and John Cockcroft, and who recognised the massive energy-generating potential of uranium, observed, "If the tremendous energy released from atomic explosions is made available to drive machinery, etc., it will bring about an industrial revolution of a far-reaching character."Among other matters, the council made recommendations for developing the state's resources of monazite, a valuable thorium ore, and ilmenite, with regard to their applications in atomic energy.[17] Early in 1947, plans were made to establish a Uranium Unit under the Geological Survey of India, to focus on identifying and developing resources of uranium-bearing minerals.[18] In June 1947, two months before Indian independence, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, then Minister for Industry, Supply, Education and Finance in the Interim Government of India, established an advisory board for research in atomic energy.Chaired by Bhabha and placed under the CSIR, the advisory board included Saha, Bhatnagar and several other distinguished scientists, notably Sir K. S. Krishnan, the co-discoverer of the Raman effect, geologist Darashaw Nosherwan Wadia and Nazir Ahmed, a student of Ernest Rutherford.On 3 August 1948, the Atomic Energy Commission of India (AEC) was established and made separate from the Department of Scientific Research, with Bhabha as its first chairman.[22] In January 1949, the AEC met to formulate a uniform under- and post-graduate university syllabus for theoretical and fundamental physics and chemistry, to guarantee sufficient numbers of nuclear scientists and to ensure they would receive consistent levels of training and education.[30] The agreement further ensured the "close cooperation and mutual assistance between the Department and the Authority in the promotion and development of the peaceful uses of atomic energy," and provided for future design and collaboration in the construction of a high flux reactor at a later date.[34][35][36] On 28 April 1956, Nehru and the Canadian High Commissioner to India Escott Reid signed an agreement for a "Canada-India Colombo Plan Atomic Reactor Project."Article III stipulated that the "reactor and any products resulting from its use will be employed for peaceful purposes only;"[37] at the time, however, there were no effective safeguards to ensure this clause.[45] In February 1960, it was decided the first power plant would be erected in Western India, with locations in Rajasthan, near Delhi and near Madras noted for future commercial reactors.[47] On 11 October 1960, the Indian government issued a tender for India's first nuclear power station near Tarapur, Maharashtra and consisting of two reactors, each generating around 150 MW of electricity and to be commissioned in 1965.[40] By this time, seven responses to India's global tender for the Tarapur power station had been received: three from the United States, two from the UK and one each from France and Canada.Developed by the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), the PFBR is a 500 MW sodium-cooled fast reactor designed to generate more fissile material than it consumes.[citation needed] This technology is pivotal for India's long-term nuclear energy plans, as it allows the country to utilize its vast reserves of thorium and uranium more efficiently.[67] In March 2011 large deposits of uranium were discovered in the Tummalapalle belt in Andhra Pradesh and in the Bhima basin in Karnataka by the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) of India.[77] On 2 September 2009, India and Namibia signed five agreements, including one on civil nuclear energy which allows for supply of uranium from the African country.[66] On 14 October 2009, India and Argentina signed an agreement in New Delhi on civil nuclear cooperation and nine other pacts to establish strategic partnership.According to official sources, the agreement was signed by Vivek Katju, Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs and Argentine foreign minister Jorge Talana.Taking into consideration their respective capabilities and experience in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, both India and Argentina have agreed to encourage and support scientific, technical and commercial cooperation for mutual benefit in this field.[81] On 16 April 2011, India and Kazakhstan signed an inter-governmental agreement for Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, that envisages a legal framework for supply of fuel, construction and operation of atomic power plants, exploration and joint mining of uranium, exchange of scientific and research information, reactor safety mechanisms and use of radiation technologies for healthcare.[89] Construction has faced regulatory issues and difficulty in sourcing major components from Japan due to India not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.[90] [91] In April 2021 French group EDF made a binding offer to build six third-generation EPR nuclear reactors at the Jaitapur site, with an installed capacity of 9.6 gigawatts.This agreement will allow India to carry out trade of nuclear fuel and technologies with other countries and significantly enhance its power generation capacity.The Government of West Bengal initially refused permission to a proposed 6,000 MW facility near the town of Haripur that intended to host 6 Russian reactors.[120] Additionally, the Nuclear Power Plant planned at Kovvada, Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh was shifted from Mithi Virdi in Gujarat after locals in the Western state too showed resistance.The PIL specifically asks for the "staying of all proposed nuclear power plants till satisfactory safety measures and cost-benefit analyses are completed by independent agencies".
JaitapurChutkaBanswaraGorakhpurKovvadaMumbai(Trombay)KakraparChennai(Kalpakkam)KudankulamNaroraRajasthanTarapurNuclear powerelectricity in Indianuclear reactorsnuclear power plantsFukushima nuclear disasterJaitapur Nuclear Power ProjectKudankulam Nuclear Power Plantlarge nuclear power plant near HaripurGovernment of West BengalPublic Interest Litigationthoriumenriched uraniumIndia's three stage nuclear power programmeGeological Survey of IndiapitchblendeuraniumthorianiteDaulat Singh KothariMeghnad SahaHomi J. BhabhaR. S. Krishnannuclear physicsUniversity of Calcuttanuclear fissionSir Dorabji Tata TrustcyclotronIndian Institute of Science, BangaloreJ. R. D. TataTata GroupTata Institute of Fundamental ResearchMumbaiatomic bombing of HiroshimaNorman FeatherJohn CockcroftCouncil of Scientific and Industrial ResearchUniversity of TravancoreTravancoremonaziteilmeniteShanti Swarup BhatnagarC. P. Ramaswami IyerIndian independenceChakravarti RajagopalachariInterim Government of IndiaK. S. KrishnanRaman effectDarashaw Nosherwan WadiaNazir AhmedErnest RutherfordDominion of IndiaPakistanJawaharlal NehruIrène Joliot-CurieDepartment of Scientific ResearchAtomic Energy Commission of IndiaDepartment of Atomic EnergyBhabha Atomic Research CentreTrombayUnited Kingdom Atomic Energy Authorityswimming pool reactorhigh flux reactorLouis St. LaurentColombo PlanEscott ReidCIRUS reactorheavy waterNarora Atomic Power StationUttar Pradeshworld's first commercial nuclear power plantObninskSoviet UnionAhmedabadBombay StateTarapur, MaharashtraCANDU reactorDouglas PointAtomic Energy of Canada LimitedRussiaelectricity generationNuclear Suppliers GroupFranceUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaSouth KoreaMongoliaKazakhstanArgentinaNamibiaTummalapalle beltAndhra PradeshBhima basinKarnatakanuclear weaponsNon-Proliferation TreatyManmohan SinghradioactivemineralsHifikepunye PohambaTorontoworld's largest exporters of uraniumheavy water nuclear technologyNazarbaevNuclear Power Corporation of India LimitedKazAtomPromAustralian Prime MinisterTony AbbottIndian Prime MinisterNarendra ModiFrench PresidentNicolas Sarkozysetting upMaharashtraNuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty