Science and Technology › Nuclear technology

Nuclear power programme

India's nuclear reactors, small modular reactors, uranium and the fuel cycle, waste, and the law on liability and private participation. Prelims has asked why India depends on coal despite having uranium deposits.

Foundation note: The three stage nuclear programme

UPSC has asked

Prelims 2023: why India depends on coal despite having uranium deposits

Showing 1 of 7 articles, those that changed from 1 to 30 June 2026.Show all

Tarapur units 1 and 2

Prelims

Tarapur Atomic Power Station units 1 and 2 are India's first commercial nuclear power reactors, operating since 1969.

They are boiling water reactors built by General Electric and Bechtel under a 1963 India US agreement.
The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) clears restarts through a multi tiered safety review that inspects pressure vessel welds to assess ageing and residual life.

What changed

17 Jun 2026BriefThe Atomic Energy Regulatory Board approved continued operation of Units 1 and 2, described as the oldest operating commercial power reactors in the world, for about ten more years after a modernisation programme. PIB, 17 Jun 2026: Secretary, DAE & Chairman, AEC visits Tarapur Atomic Power Station, Commends the continuing legacy of world's oldest running power reactors (opens in a new tab)

Breeder reactor: A reactor that produces more fissile material than it consumes.

mixed oxide fuel: Mixed oxide (MOX) fuel: a blend of uranium and plutonium oxides.

First criticality: The moment a reactor first sustains a nuclear chain reaction on its own.

Small modular reactor: A factory built reactor of up to about 300 MWe, made in modules rather than poured in concrete on site.

Pressurised water reactor: A reactor cooled and moderated by ordinary water held at high pressure.

Burn up: The energy drawn from a given mass of nuclear fuel before it is spent and removed from the reactor.

copper chlorine cycle: A thermochemical process that uses heat to split water into hydrogen.

Special Drawing Rights: An international reserve asset created by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and used as a unit of account rather than as a currency.

Also filed elsewhere

Green status for nuclear power · on Climate finance, carbon markets and carbon pricing
Green status for nuclear power would class nuclear energy as green, so that nuclear projects could raise money through green instruments.
Monazite and the beach sands · on Critical minerals and rare earths
The sands of India's southern coast carry monazite, the mineral that holds both thorium and rare earths.