Lok Sabha Question No. 284 (STARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Third Stage of Nuclear Power Programme
Ministry: ATOMIC ENERGY
Asked by: KONDA VISHWESHWAR REDDY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 284*

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.03.2017

## THIRD STAGE OF NUCLEAR POWER PROGRAMME

- *284.   SHRI KONDA VISHWESHWAR REDDY :

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether appreciable developments and achievements have been  made in implementing the third stage of Indian Nuclear Power Programme;
- (b) if so, the details thereof including technological challenges and concerns identified in this regard;
- (c) the time by which the said technology is likely to be made commercially operational; and
- (d) the funds earmarked/allocated/released during each of the last three years for the said purpose?

## ANSWER

THE  MINISTER  OF  STATE  FOR  PERSONNEL,  PUBLIC  GRIEVANCES  &  PENSIONS AND PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE (Dr. JITENDRA SINGH) :

(a)to(d) A statement is placed on the Table of the House.

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## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *284  DUE  FOR  ANSWER  ON  22.03.2017  BY  SHRI  KONDA  VISHWESHWAR  REDDY REGARDING THIRD STAGE OF NUCLEAR POWER PROGRAMME.

- (a)&(b)  The  third stage of Indian nuclear power programme contemplates using Thorium along with Uranium-233 as fuel in Thorium based reactors. With sustained efforts over years, India has gained   experience over the entire thorium fuel cycle on a semi-industrial  scale.  The  developmental  activities  include  studies  in  thorium extraction, fuel fabrication and irradiation, reprocessing studies including construction of an engineering-scale power reactor, thorium reprocessing facility and  setting  up  of  uranium-233  fuelled  Purnima  and  KAMINI  research  reactors. Some of the important highlights of these activities overcoming challenges are the following:
- i. Thorium Oxide (Thoria) pellets contained in normal bundles have been used in  the  initial  core  of  our  operating  Pressurised  Heavy  Water  Reactors (PHWRs) for breeding U233.  Thoria based fuels have also been irradiated in the research reactors CIRUS and Dhruva. After such irradiations, these fuel elements have been examined in the laboratories at BARC, yielding excellent results.
- ii. The  irradiated  thoria  has  been  reprocessed  to  extract  uranium-233.  The recovered uranium-233 has been fabricated as fuel for the 30 KW (thermal) KAMINI  reactor,  which  is  in  operation  at  Indira  Gandhi  Centre  for  Atomic Research (IGCAR) at Kalpakkam.
- iii. A 300 MWe Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) using thorium based fuel  has  been  designed  and  developed.  This  reactor  will  serve  as  a technology demonstrator for not only the thorium fuel cycle technologies, but also  several  advanced  passive  safety features.  A  Critical  Facility  has  been constructed  in  BARC,  and  is  being  used  for  carrying  out  experiments  to validate the reactor physics design of AHWR.
- iv. India  has  also  constructed  a  demonstration  scale  reprocessing  facility  for separation of Uranium 233 from spent thoria fuels.

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and other research organisations attached  with  DAE  are  engaged  in  various  R&D  activities  to  address  the utilisation of thorium in different types of reactors, including efforts aimed at enlarging the existing thorium cycle experience to a bigger scale.

- (c) Large scale Thorium based nuclear reactors for commercial operation is planned in the 3 rd stage programme. Thorium is planned to be introduced in the fuel cycle when sufficient capacity of fast breeder reactors of 2 nd stage programme are built and are in commercial operation.  As  per  the  present  projection,  Thorium  based reactors are envisaged to be operating in commercial scale after year 2050.
- (d) As  part  of  the  recent  plan  projects,  a  total  of ` 292  Crore  has  been  allotted  for Research and Development programme on thorium based reactors.

The funds earmarked/allocated in the last 3 years.

2017: ` 4.25 crore 2016: ` 8.70 crore 2015: ` 8.20 crore

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