NUCLEAR ENERGY: BALANCING SELF-RELIANCE, SAFETY AND GLOBAL COOPERATION
Syllabus Mapping: GS-3: Infrastructure: Energy; Science and Technology—developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.
Amid rising energy demand and the global transition towards low-carbon development, nuclear energy has emerged as a strategic pillar of India’s energy future. Its ability to provide reliable, round-the-clock clean electricity makes it indispensable for ensuring energy security while supporting long-term climate goals.
Why Nuclear Energy is Central to India’s Energy Transition?
- Baseload Reliability: Unlike solar and wind, nuclear power generates 24×7 uninterrupted electricity, ensuring grid stability and complementing variable renewable energy.
- Accelerates Decarbonisation: Nuclear power generates electricity with near-zero operational carbon emissions, making it indispensable for achieving Net Zero 2070 and Panchamrit
- Energy Sovereignty: Expanding nuclear energy reduces dependence on imported fossil fuels and protects the economy from geopolitical disruptions and oil price volatility. Eg: India imports nearly 85% of its crude oil and over 50% of its natural gas.
- Grid Firming: Stable nuclear generation complements intermittent renewables by balancing the grid and ensuring round-the-clock electricity supply.
- High Energy Density: Nuclear plants generate significantly higher electricity per unit land than most renewable energy sources, reducing land acquisition pressures. Eg: A 1 GW nuclear plant requires substantially less land than an equivalent solar installation.
- Diversified Energy Mix: A diversified energy mix with nuclear, renewables, hydro and storage reduces overdependence on any single energy source, making the transition more resilient.
Challenges in Expanding Nuclear Energy in India
- Capital-Intensive Infrastructure: Nuclear power projects require substantial upfront investment, long construction periods and delayed returns, affecting financial viability.
- Technology and Supply Chain Dependence: India continues to rely on international collaboration for certain advanced reactor technologies, specialised components and enriched fuel. Eg: Cooperation with Russia (Kudankulam) and France (Jaitapur project).
- Radioactive Waste Management: Safe storage, transportation and long-term disposal of high-level radioactive waste remain technically complex and socially sensitive.
- Investment Uncertainty: The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 has discouraged foreign suppliers and limited private investment due to supplier liability concerns.
- Economic Competitiveness: Falling costs of solar, wind and battery storage create economic competitiveness challenges for capital-intensive nuclear projects.
Why Global Cooperation Remains Indispensable?
- Securing Reliable Nuclear Fuel Supplies: India’s limited domestic uranium reserves make diversified international fuel partnerships essential for uninterrupted reactor operations and long-term energy security. Eg: Uranium supply agreements with Kazakhstan, Canada, Australia, Uzbekistan and Namibia.
- Access to Advanced Nuclear Technologies: Global collaboration accelerates deployment of Generation III+, Generation IV reactors and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), shortening the technology gap. Eg:Russia (VVER reactors at Kudankulam).
- Strategic Capacity Building: International collaboration brings capital, engineering expertise and project execution capabilities required to rapidly scale nuclear power.
- Global Nuclear Governance: Adoption of international safety standards, peer reviews and emergency preparedness enhances operational safety and public confidence. Eg:IAEA Safety Standards, Convention on Nuclear Safety and Operational Safety Review Team (OSART)
Way Forward: Towards a Safe, Self-Reliant and Globally Integrated Nuclear Ecosystem
- Atmanirbhar Nuclear Ecosystem: Fast-track indigenous 700 MW PHWRs, operationalise the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) and accelerate the three-stage thorium programme to achieve long-term energy sovereignty.
- Next-Generation Reactors: Promote indigenous Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), advanced reactors and AI-enabled nuclear systems through mission-mode R&D. Eg:Nuclear Energy Mission (Budget 2025–26).
- Build a Complete Domestic Nuclear Value Chain: Strengthen uranium exploration, fuel fabrication, heavy water production, reactor components, reprocessing and waste management through greater industry participation.
- Deepen Strategic Global Partnerships: Expand cooperation with the IAEA and partner countries for fuel security, advanced reactor technologies, nuclear safety, fusion research and supply-chain resilience.
- Safety-by-Design: Establish an independent Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority (NSRA), enhance emergency preparedness, cybersecurity and periodic safety audits in line with IAEA Safety Standards.
- Mobilise Investment and Accelerate Project Execution: Facilitate long-term financing, streamline approvals and encourage responsible private-sector participation to expedite nuclear capacity expansion.
- Integrated Energy Transition: Position nuclear alongside renewables, storage and green hydrogen to build a diversified, resilient and low-carbon energy system.
India’s nuclear future lies not in choosing between self-reliance, safety and global cooperation, but in harmonising all three to power a secure, sustainable and Viksit Bharat.
PRELIMS BOOSTERS
1 . Biogas & Compressed Biogas (CBG)
- Biogas is produced by anaerobic digestion of biodegradable organic matter by methanogenic archaea.
- Major constituents:Methane (50–75%), CO₂ (25–45%) with traces of H₂S, H₂, NH₃ and water vapour.
- Liquid biogas (LBG): It is a clean vehicle fuel and an eco-friendly substitute for heating and electricity generation. It is derived from biogas through a liquefaction process and helps in reducing emissions and making it easier to store and transport.
- Compressed biogas (CBG): It is a high-density fuel that contains more than 90% methane and is formed by compressing biogas. It replaces conventional fossil fuels and is increasingly used in transportation as an environmentally conscious alternative.
- Bio-slurry is the major by-product and is used as a nutrient-rich organic manure.
- Feedstock includes cattle dung, crop residues, press mud, distillery spent wash, municipal solid waste, sewage sludge and food waste.
- SATAT (2018) – Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation; implemented by Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas through Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) such as IOCL, BPCL and HPCL.
- GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) is implemented under Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) by the Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti.
- National Biofuels Coordination Committee (NBCC) is the apex body for biofuel policy; Chairperson – Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas.
2. Interstellar Sugar, Astrobiology & Space Chemistry
- Recently, astronomers detected erythrulose (a four-carbon sugar) in the interstellar medium (ISM) near the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy, adding to evidence that life’s building blocks may exist in space.
- The discovery was made using radio telescopes, which identify molecules through their characteristic electromagnetic spectra.
- Interstellar Medium (ISM): The matter present between stars, consisting of gas (mainly hydrogen & helium), dust, cosmic rays and magnetic fields.The ISM is the birthplace of stars and planetary systems.
- Molecular clouds are the coldest and densest regions of the ISM and are the principal sites of star formation.
- Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the Universe, followed by Helium.
- Complex Organic Molecules (COMs) such as amino acids, alcohols, aldehydes and sugars have been detected in interstellar space. .
- Radio telescopes detect radio waves emitted by celestial objects and are extensively used to identify molecules in interstellar clouds.
- Unlike optical telescopes, radio telescopes can observe through interstellar dust clouds.
- James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) primarily observes in the infrared, whereas Hubble Space Telescope (HST) mainly observes in the visible and ultraviolet spectrum.
3. India–Australia Civil Nuclear Cooperation
- Recently, India and Australia finalised the Administrative Arrangements under the India–Australia Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (2014), enabling commercial exports of Australian uranium to Indian entities for peaceful civil nuclear purposes.
- The arrangements operationalise the Agreement by prescribing procedures for tracking, accounting, transport and verification of Australian nuclear material supplied to India.
- Australia possesses one of the world’s largest uranium reserves, making it a key long-term partner for India’s clean energy transition.
- The agreement is based on IAEA safeguards and Australia’s requirement that supplied uranium be used only for peaceful purposes.
- India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), but it has concluded civil nuclear cooperation agreements with several countries, including USA, France, Russia, Canada, Australia, Japan and Kazakhstan.
- India obtained a clean waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in 2008, allowing international civil nuclear trade despite being a non-NPT state.
