{"id":61382,"date":"2025-12-12T18:47:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T13:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=61382"},"modified":"2025-12-13T15:33:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T10:03:19","slug":"nuclear-power-generation-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/12-12-2025\/nuclear-power-generation-india","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Nuclear Power Generation Reaches Record High in FY 2024-25"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Energy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>According to the Department of Atomic Energy, NPCIL has, for the first time, crossed 50 billion units (BUs) of electricity generation in FY 2024\u201325.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Nuclear Power in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India operates <strong>one of the world\u2019s most unique nuclear programmes<\/strong> based on a <strong>three-stage nuclear strategy<\/strong> designed to utilise India\u2019s abundant thorium reserves.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The current installed nuclear power capacity in the country is <strong>around 8.78 GW,<\/strong> spread across <strong>24 nuclear power reactors.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As of July 2025, nuclear energy contributes around <strong>3.1 % of total electricity generation.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is Nuclear Energy?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Nuclear energy is the <strong>energy released during nuclear reactions,<\/strong> either through fission (splitting of atomic nuclei) or fusion (merging of atomic nuclei).&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In nuclear fission, <\/strong>heavy atomic nuclei, such as those of uranium or plutonium, are split into lighter nuclei, releasing a large amount of energy.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This process is utilized in nuclear power plants to generate electricity.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"d4dbd5\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"559\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-81-1024x559.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-61384\" style=\"--dominant-color: #d4dbd5; aspect-ratio:1.8328105822991954;width:515px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-81-1024x559.png 1024w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-81-300x164.png 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-81-768x419.png 768w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-81-1536x838.png 1536w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-81.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government initiatives for nuclear expansion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Nuclear Energy Mission: <\/strong>The government has set an ambitious target to increase the country&#8217;s nuclear power capacity <strong>to 100 GW by 2047<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India had announced a <strong>Rs 20,000 crore <\/strong>R&amp;D mission for development of <strong>small modular reactors (SMRs). <\/strong>India is also targeting the deployment of at least five of these indigenously developed reactors by 2033.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>NPCIL and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)<\/strong> have signed a supplementary Joint Venture agreement to develop nuclear power facilities in the country.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The JV named <strong>ASHVINI will<\/strong> build, own, and operate nuclear power plants, including the upcoming <strong>4&#215;700 MWe PHWR Mahi-Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Project.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Unit 7 of the Rawatbhata Atomic Power Project <\/strong>was connected to the Northern Grid and began commercial operations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Atomic Energy Commission<\/strong> approved pre-project activities for ten additional <strong>700 MWe PHWRs,<\/strong> beyond the 22.5 GW nuclear capacity planned by 2032.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Applications of Nuclear Technologies&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Agriculture and Food Processing:<\/strong> DAE developed two new crop varieties: <strong>TBM-9, <\/strong>an early-maturing banana, and <strong>RTS-43,<\/strong> a high-yield sorghum.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Advances in Strategic Sectors:&nbsp;<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Heavy Water Board achieved <strong>99.8% enrichment of Boron-11<\/strong>, suitable for semiconductor applications.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The first experimental run of India\u2019s dark matter search project, InDEx, began at the <strong>Jaduguda Underground Science Laboratory<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concerns Associated with Nuclear Technology<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>High Capital Costs and Long Gestation Period:<\/strong>&nbsp; Nuclear plants require massive upfront investment, making them costlier than solar or wind.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Radioactive Waste Management:<\/strong> Spent fuel remains hazardous for thousands of years. It requires secure storage, reprocessing, and long-term geological disposal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Safety Risks:<\/strong> Catastrophic incidents (Chernobyl, Fukushima) show low-probability but high-impact risks.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Evacuation, contamination and long-term ecological impacts make public acceptance difficult.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Water-Intensive Technology: <\/strong>Nuclear reactors require large quantities of water for cooling.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Not suitable in drought-prone or water-stressed areas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>By promoting nuclear energy as a sustainable, scalable, and secure power source, the government aims to bolster energy security and meet the nation&#8217;s long-term economic and environmental goals.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Nuclear Energy Mission for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/19-04-2025\/viksit-bharat-developed-india-by-2047\">Viksit Bharat <\/a>is poised to accelerate nuclear power development, positioning India as a global leader in advanced nuclear technology by 2047.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ddnews.gov.in\/en\/indias-nuclear-power-generation-reaches-record-high-in-fy-2024-25\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>DD NEWS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">According to the Department of Atomic Energy, NPCIL has, for the first time, crossed 50 billion units (BUs) of electricity generation in FY 2024\u201325.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>Nuclear Power in India<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India operates one of the world\u2019s most unique nuclear programmes based on a three-stage nuclear strategy designed to utilise India\u2019s abundant thorium reserves.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The current installed nuclear power capacity in the country is around 8.78 GW, spread across 24 nuclear power reactors.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">As of July 2025, nuclear energy contributes around 3.1 % of total electricity generation.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/12-12-2025\/nuclear-power-generation-india\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61382"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61517,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61382\/revisions\/61517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}