Lok Sabha Question No. 2934 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-06
Subject: Closed Fuel Cycle Technology
Ministry: ATOMIC ENERGY
Asked by: Shri Aditya Yadav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY

## LOKSABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 2934

ANSWERED ON 06/08/2025

## CLOSED FUEL CYCLE TECHNOLOGY

## 2934. SHRI ADITYA YADAV

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:-

- (a) whether the Government is prioritising/planning to prioritise closed fuel cycle technology to maximise nuclear fuel utilisation;
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken by the Government in this regard and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (c) the steps taken / being taken by the Government for strengthening the country's nuclear fuel security and ensuring a steady domestic supply for reactors?

## ANSWER

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

- (a)&(b)   India follows a Closed Nuclear Fuel Cycle, aligned with its three-stage nuclear power programme in order to optimally utilize India's limited uranium resources and to exploit its  large  thorium  reserves  for  long  term  energy  security.  It  involves  the  recovery  and recycling  of  fissile  and  fertile  material  from  spent  nuclear  fuel  (SNF),  rather  than disposing it of as waste. This approach enables enhanced utilization of nuclear material resources,  improves  energy  security,  and  minimizes  high-level  radioactive  waste volumes. The programme aims to use domestic uranium in the Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) and  use plutonium obtained from the reprocessing of spent fuel of PHWRs in Fast Breeder Reactors. Large scale use of thorium will subsequently follow, first to breed Uranium-233 from Th-232 and then utilize U-233 as fuel.

Reprocessing facilities are operationalized for reprocessing domestic nuclear spent fuel from PHWRs.  For realization of second stage of nuclear power programme, Fast Breeder

Test  Reactor  and  other  facilities  were  established  for  material  research  and  proof  of design concepts. Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR)  &  integrated nuclear reprocessing plant for fast reactor fuel is under construction at Kalpakkam.

Research on thorium utilization for the third stage of closed fuel cycle continues to be a high  priority  R&D  area  of  the  Department  of  Atomic  Energy  (DAE).  In  this  regard, necessary R&D is being carried out in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and other  research  organisations  attached  with  DAE.  Some  important  highlights  of  these achievements and activities are the following:

- i. Thorium Oxide (Thoria) pellets contained in bundles have been used in the initial cores of PHWRs and valuable experience has been generated in operation and re-use  of  this  irradiated  thorium  fuel.  Thoria  based  fuels  have  also  been irradiated in the research reactors of BARC. After such irradiation, these fuel elements have been examined in the laboratories at BARC for post-irradiation studies.
- ii. The irradiated Thoria pins of research reactors have been reprocessed to obtain Uranium-233. The recovered Uranium-233 has been fabricated as fuel for the 30kW (thermal) KAMINI reactor, which is in operation at Indira Gandhi Centre for  Atomic Research (IGCAR) at Kalpakkam. This is the only reactor in the world operating with Uranium-233 fuel.
- iii. The technologies for fabrication of Thoria based fuel pellets, carrying Uranium233, have been established at laboratory scale.
4. (c)    Uranium Corporation of India Ltd.  ( UCIL ) a Public Sector Undertaking ( PSU ) under Department   of Atomic Energy (DAE) has been mandated to mine and process uranium ore  in  the  country.  In  line  with  DAE's  requirement  of  uranium  to fuel  nuclear power plants, UCIL has outlined a plan for expansion which includes maintaining sustained supply from existing facilities through debottlenecking of certain deficiencies, modernization and capacity expansion of some existing units.

Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), a constituent unit of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), has the mandate to identify, evaluate and augment mineral resources of uranium and thorium in the country .

To  strengthen  the  country's  nuclear  fuel  security  and  speedy  augmentation  of  these resources, AMD is carrying out integrated and multi-disciplinary exploration (including heliborne  and ground  geophysical  surveys, ground  geological,  geochemical  and radiometric surveys and drilling) in identified thrust areas of the country by utilising state-of-the-art technology.

As on date , AMD has established 4,33,800t in-situ U3O8 resource in 47 uranium deposits located  in  Andhra  Pradesh,  Telangana,  Jharkhand,  Meghalaya,  Rajasthan,  Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Besides, the Directorate has established 1.18 million tonne (Mt) thorium oxide (ThO2) resource contained in 13.15 Mt in-situ monazite (a mineral containing thorium) resource in 136 deposits associated with the coastal beach and inland placers located in Kerala, Tamil  Nadu,  Odisha, Andhra  Pradesh,  Maharashtra, Gujarat,  West  Bengal  and Jharkhand. In addition, 29,900t in-situ ThO2 resource in hard rocks has been established incidental to the rare earth oxide resource in the state of Gujarat.

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