Nuclear Power in India

(15 February 2010)

• India has a flourishing and largely indigenous nuclear power program and expects to have 20,000 MWe nuclear capacity on line by 2020 and 63,000 MWe by 2032. It aims to supply 25% of electricity from nuclear power by 2050.
• Because India is outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty due to its weapons program, it has been for 34 years largely excluded from trade in nuclear plant or materials, which has hampered its development of civil nuclear energy until 2009.
• Due to these trade bans and lack of indigenous uranium, India has uniquely been developing a nuclear fuel cycle to exploit its reserves of thorium.
• Now, foreign technology and fuel are expected to boost India's nuclear power plans considerably. All plants will have high indigenous engineering content.
• India has a vision of becoming a world leader in nuclear technology due to its expertise in fast reactors and thorium fuel cycle.

Electricity demand in India has been increasing rapidly, and the 534 billion kilowatt hours produced in 2002 was almost double the 1990 output, though still represented only 505 kWh per capita for the year. In 2006, 744 billion kWh gross was produced, but with huge transmission losses this resulted in only 505 billion kWh consumption. The per capita figure is expected to almost triple by 2020, with 6.3% annual growth. Coal provides 68% of the electricity at present, but reserves are limited. Gas provides 8%, hydro 15%.

Nuclear power supplied 15.8 billion kWh (2.5%) of India's electricity in 2007 from 3.7 GWe (of 110 GWe total) capacity and this will increase steadily as imported uranium becomes available and new plants come on line. In the year to March 2010, 22 billion kWh is forecast. Some 300 reactor-years of operation had been achieved by mid 2009. India's fuel situation, with shortage of fossil fuels, is driving the nuclear investment for electricity, and 25% nuclear contribution is foreseen by 2050, from one hundred times the 2002 capacity. Almost as much investment in the grid system as in power plants is necessary.

In 2006 almost US$ 9 billion was committed for power projects, including 9.35 GWe of new generating capacity, taking forward projects to 43.6 GWe and US$ 51 billion. In late 2009 the government said that it was confident that 62 GWe of new capacity would be added in the 5-year plan to March 2012, and best efforts were being made to add 12.5 GWe on top of this, though only 18 GWe had been achieved by the mid point of October 2009, when 152 GWe was on line. The government's 5-year plan for 2012-17 was targeting the addition of 100 GWe over the period. Three quarters of this would be coal- or lignite-fired, and only 3.4 GWe nuclear, including two imported 1000 MWe units at one site and two indigenous 700 MWe units at another.

A KPMG report in 2007 said that India needed to spend US$ 120-150 billion on power infrastructure over the next five years, including transmission and distribution. It said that distribution losses are currently some 30-40%, worth more than $6 billion per year.

The target since about 2004 has been for nuclear power to provide 20 GWe by 2020, but in 2007 the Prime Minister referred to this as "modest" and capable of being "doubled with the opening up of international cooperation." However, it is evident that even the 20 GWe target will require substantial uranium imports. Late in 2008 NPCIL projected 22 GWe on line by 2015, and the government was talking about having 50 GWe of nuclear power operating by 2050. Then in June 2009 NPCIL said it aimed for 63 GWe nuclear by 2032, including 40 GWe of PWR capacity and 7 GWe of new PHWR capacity, all fuelled by imported uranium. The Atomic Energy Commission however envisages some 500 GWe nuclear on line by 2060, and has since speculated that the amount might be higher still: 600-700 GWe by 2050, providing half of all electricity.

Indian nuclear power industry development

Nuclear power for civil use is well established in India. Its civil nuclear strategy has been directed towards complete independence in the nuclear fuel cycle, necessary because it is excluded from the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) due to it acquiring nuclear weapons capability after 1970. (Those five countries doing so before 1970 were accorded the status of Nuclear Weapons States under the NPT.)

As a result, India's nuclear power program has proceeded largely without fuel or technological assistance from other countries (but see later section). Its power reactors to the mid 1990s had some of the world's lowest capacity factors, reflecting the technical difficulties of the country's isolation, but rose impressively from 60% in 1995 to 85% in 2001-02. Then in 2008-10 the load factors dropped due to shortage of uranium fuel.

India's nuclear energy self-sufficiency extended from uranium exploration and mining through fuel fabrication, heavy water production, reactor design and construction, to reprocessing and waste management. It has a small fast breeder reactor and is building a much larger one. It is also developing technology to utilise its abundant resources of thorium as a nuclear fuel.

The Atomic Energy Establishment was set up at Trombay, near Mumbai, in 1957 and renamed as Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) ten years later. Plans for building the first Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) were finalised in 1964, and this prototype - Rajasthan-1, which had Canada's Douglas Point reactor as a reference unit, was built as a collaborative venture between Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL) and NPCIL. It started up in 1972 and was duplicated Subsequent indigenous PHWR development has been based on these units.

The Indian Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) is the main policy body.

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is responsible for design, construction, commissioning and operation of thermal nuclear power plants. At the start of 2010 it said it had enough cash on hand for 10,000 MWe of new plant. Its funding model is 70% equity and 30% debt financing. However, it is aiming to involve other public sector and private corporations in future nuclear power expansion, notably National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) - see subsection below. NTPC is largely government-owned, and the 1962 Atomic Energy Act prohibits private control of nuclear power generation.

India's operating nuclear power reactors:

Reactor	State	Type	MWe net, each	Commercial operation	Safeguards status
Tarapur 1 & 2	Maharashtra	BWR	150	1969	item-specific
Kaiga 1 & 2	Karnataka	PHWR	202	1999-2000
Kaiga 3	Karnataka	PHWR	202	2007
Kakrapar 1 & 2	Gujarat	PHWR	202	1993-95	in 2012 under new agreement
Kalpakkam 1 & 2 (MAPS)	Tamil Nadu	PHWR	202	1984-86
Narora 1 & 2	Uttar Pradesh	PHWR	202	1991-92	in 2014 under new agreement
Rajasthan 1	Rajasthan	PHWR	90	1973	item-specific
Rajasthan 2	Rajasthan	PHWR	187	1981	item-specific
Rajasthan 3 & 4	Rajasthan	PHWR	202	1999-2000	early 2010 under new agreement
Rajasthan 5	Rajasthan	PHWR	202	Feb 2010	Oct 2009 under new agreement
Tarapur 3 & 4	Maharashtra	PHWR	490	2006, 05
Total (18)			3981 MWe

The two Tarapur 150 MWe Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) built by GE on a turnkey contract before the advent of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty were originally 200 MWe. They were down-rated due to recurrent problems but have run well since. They have been using imported enriched uranium and are under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. However, late in 2004 Russia deferred to the Nuclear Suppliers' Group and declined to supply further uranium for them. They underwent six months refurbishment over 2005-06, and in March 2006 Russia agreed to resume fuel supply. In December 2008 a $700 million contract with Rosatom was announced for continued uranium supply to them.

The two small Canadian (Candu) PHWRs at Rajasthan nuclear power plant started up in 1972 & 1980, and are also under safeguards. Rajasthan-1 was down-rated early in its life and has operated very little since 2002 due to ongoing problems and has been shut down since 2004 as the government considers its future. Rajasthan-2 was restarted in September 2009 after major refurbishment, and running on imported uranium at full rated power.

The 220 MWe PHWRs (202 MWe net) were indigenously designed and constructed by NPCIL, based on a Canadian design.

The Kalpakkam (MAPS) reactors were refurbished in 2002-03 and 2004-05 and their capacity restored to 220 MWe gross (from 170). Much of the core of each reactor was replaced, and the lifespans extended to 2033/36.

Kakrapar unit 1 was repaired and upgraded in 2009, as was Narora-2.

More recent nuclear power developments in India

The new Tarapur 3&4 reactors of 540 MWe gross (490 MWe net) are developed indigenously from the 220 MWe (gross) model PHWR and were built by NPCIL.

The first - Tarapur 4 - started up in March 2005, was connected to the grid in June and started commercial operation in September. Tarapur-4's criticality came five years after pouring first concrete and seven months ahead of schedule. Its twin - unit 3 - was about a year behind it and criticality was achieved in May 2006, with grid connection in June and commercial operation in August, five months ahead of schedule.

Future indigenous PHWR reactors will be 700 MWe gross (640 MWe net). The first four will be built at Kakrapar and Rajasthan.

Russia is supplying the country's first large nuclear power plant, comprising two VVER-1000 (V-392) reactors, under a Russian-financed US$ 3 billion contract. The AES-92 units at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu state are being built by NPCIL and will be commissioned and operated by NPCIL under IAEA safeguards. The turbines are made by Leningrad Metal Works. Unlike other Atomstroyexport projects such as in Iran, there have been only about 80 Russian supervisory staff on the job. Russia will supply all the enriched fuel, though India will reprocess it and keep the plutonium. The first unit was due to start supplying power in March 2008 and go into commercial operation late in 2008, but this schedule has slipped by about two years. The second unit is about 6-8 months behind it.

While the first core load of fuel was delivered early in 2008 there have been delays in supply of some equipment and documentation. Control system documentation was delivered late, and when reviewed by NPCIL it showed up the need for significant refining and even reworking some aspects. Fuel loading of unit 1 will not now take place until early 2010, though in October NPCIL said the unit was 94% complete and that 99% of the equipment was on site.

Under plans for the India-specific safeguards to be administered by the IAEA in relation to the civil-military separation plan, eight further reactors will be safeguarded (beyond Tarapur 1&2, Rajasthan 1&2, and Kudankulam 1&2): Rajasthan 3&4 by 2010, Rajasthan 5&6 by 2008, Kakrapar 1&2 by 2012 and Narora 1&2 by 2014.

India's nuclear power reactors under construction:

Reactor	Type	MWe net, each	Project control	Commercial operation due	Safeguards status
Kaiga 4	PHWR	202 MWe	NPCIL	3/2010
Rajasthan 6	PHWR	202 MWe	NPCIL	2/2010	Oct 2009 under new agreement
Kudankulam 1	PWR (VVER)	950 MWe	NPCIL	9/2010	item-specific
Kudankulam 2	PWR (VVER)	950 MWe	NPCIL	3/2011	item-specific
Kalpakkam PFBR	FBR	470 MWe	Bhavini	9/2011	-
Total (5)		2774 MWe

Kaiga 3 started up in February, was connected to the grid in April and went into commercial operation in May 2007. Unit 4 was scheduled about six months behind it, but is about 18 months behind original schedule due to shortage of uranium. RAPP-5 started up in November 2009, using imported Russian fuel, and in December it was connected to the northern grid. RAPP-6 started up in January 2010 and is expected to be grid connected at the end of February.

In mid 2008 Indian nuclear power plants were running at about half of capacity due to a chronic shortage of fuel. The situation was expected to persist for several years if the civil nuclear agreement faltered, though some easing in 2008 was likely due to the new Turamdih mill in Jharkhand state coming on line (the mine there is already operating). Political opposition has delayed new mines in Jharkhand, Meghalaya and Andhra Pradesh.

A 500 MWe prototype fast breeder reactor (FBR) is under construction at Kalpakkam by BHAVINI (Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd), a government enterprise set up under DAE to focus on FBRs. It is expected to start up about the end of 2010 and produce power in 2011. Four further oxide-fuel fast reactors are envisaged but slightly redesigned by the Indira Gandhi Centre to reduce capital cost. One pair will be at Kalpakkam, two more elsewhere. (See also section below.)

In contrast to the situation in the 1990s, most reactors under construction are on schedule (apart from fuel shortages 2007-09), and the first two - Tarapur 3 & 4 – were slightly increased in capacity. These and future planned ones were 450 (now 490) MWe versions of the 202 MWe domestic products. Beyond them and the last three 202 MWe units, future units will be nominal 700 MWe.

The government envisages setting up about ten PHWRs of 700 MWe capacity to about 2023, fuelled by indigenous uranium, as stage 1 of its nuclear program. Stage 2 - four 500 MWe FBRs - will be concurrent.

Nuclear industry developments in India beyond the trade restrictions

Following the Nuclear Suppliers' Group agreement which was achieved in September 2008, the scope for supply of both reactors and fuel from suppliers in other countries opened up. Civil nuclear cooperation agreements have been signed with the USA, Russia, France, UK and Canada (pending), as well as Argentina, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Namibia.

The Russian PWR types were apart from India's three-stage plan for nuclear power and were simply to increase generating capacity more rapidly. Now there are plans for eight 1000 MWe units at the Kudankulam site, and in January 2007 a memorandum of understanding was signed for Russia to build four more there, as well as others elsewhere in India. The new units are expected to be the larger 1200 MWe AES-2006 versions of the first two.

Between 2010 and 2020, further construction is expected to take total gross capacity to 21,180 MWe. The nuclear capacity target is part of national energy policy. This planned increment includes those set out in the Table below including the initial 300 MWe Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR).

In 2005 four sites were approved for eight new reactors. Two of the sites - Kakrapar and Rajasthan, would have 700 MWe indigenous PHWR units, Kudankulam would have imported 1000 or 1200 MWe light water reactors alongside the two being built there by Russia, and the fourth site was greenfield for two 1000 MWe LWR units - Jaitapur (Jaithalpur) in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra state, on the west coast. The plan has since expanded to six 1600 MWe EPR units here.

NPCIL had meetings and technical discussions with three major reactor suppliers - Areva of France, GE-Hitachi and Westinghouse Electric Corporation of the USA for supply of reactors for these projects and for new units at Kaiga. These resulted in more formal agreements with each reactor supplier early in 2009, as mentioned below.

In April 2007 the government gave approval for the first four of these eight units: Kakrapar 3 & 4 and Rajasthan 7 & 8, using indigenous technology. In mid 2009 construction approval was confirmed, late in 2009 finance for them was approved, and site works commenced early in 2010. In September 2009 L&T secured an order for four steam generators for Rajasthan 7 & 8, having supplied similar ones for Kakrapar 3 & 4. Construction is expected to take 66 months from first concrete (expected in 2010) to commercial operation.

In late 2008 NPCIL announced that as part of the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12), it would start site work for 12 reactors including the rest of the eight PHWRs of 700 MWe each, three or four fast breeder reactors and one 300 MWe advanced heavy water reactor in 2009. NPCIL said that "India is now focusing on capacity addition through indigenisation" with progressively higher local content for imported designs, up to 80%. Looking further ahead its augmentation plan included construction of 25-30 light water reactors of at least 1000 MWe by 2030.

Power reactors planned or firmly proposed

Reactor	State	Type	MWe net, each	Project control	Start construct	Start operation
Kakrapar 3	Gujarat	PHWR	640	NPCIL	2010?	2014
Kakrapar 4	Gujarat	PHWR	640	NPCIL	2010?	2014
Rajasthan 7	Rajasthan	PHWR	640	NPCIL	2010?	2014
Rajasthan 8	Rajasthan	PHWR	640	NPCIL	2010?	2014
Kudankulam 3	Tamil Nadu	PWR - AES 92 or AES-2006	1050-1200	NPCIL	late 2010?
Kudankulam 4	Tamil Nadu	PWR - AES 92 or AES-2006	1050-1200	NPCIL	2011?
Jaitapur 1 & 2	Maharashtra	PWR - EPR	1600	NPCIL	by 2012	2017-18
Kaiga 5 & 6	Karnataka	PWR	1000/1500	NPCIL	by 2012
Kudankulam 5 & 6	Tamil Nadu	PWR - AES 92 or AES-2006	1050-1200	NPCIL	2012?
?		PWR x 2	1000	NTPC	by 2012?	2014
Jaitapur 3 & 4	Maharashtra	PWR - EPR	1600	NPCIL	by 2016
Kumharia	Haryana	PHWR x 4	640	NPCIL	by 2012?
Bargi	Madhya Pradesh	PHWR x 2	640	NPCIL
?		FBR x 2	470	Bhavini		2020
?		AHWR	300	NPCIL	by 2012	2020
subtotal		24 units	23,500 MWe
Jaitapur 5 & 6	Maharashtra	6 x EPR	1600	NPCIL
Markandi (Pati Sonapur)	Orissa	PWR 6000 MWe
Mithi Virdi, Saurashtra region	Gujarat	6 x AP1000	1250
Pulivendula	Andhra Pradesh	PWR?	2x1000	NPCIL 51%, AP Genco 49%
Kovvada	Andhra Pradesh	6 x ESBWR	1350-1550
Haripur	West Bengal	PWR x 4 VVER-1200	1200

For WNA reactor table: first 23 units 'planned', next (estimated) 15 'proposed'.

The AEC has said that India now has "a significant technological capability in PWRs and NPCIL has worked out an Indian PWR design" which will be unveiled soon - perhaps 2010.

Nuclear Energy Parks

In line with past practice such as at the eight-unit Rajasthan nuclear plant, NPCIL intends to set up five further "Nuclear Energy Parks", each with a capacity for up to eight new-generation reactors of 1,000 MWe, six reactors of 1600 MWe or simply 10,000 MWe at a single location. By 2032, 40-45 GWe would be provided from these five. NPCIL says it is confident of being able to start work by 2012 on at least four new reactors at all four sites designated for imported plants.

The new energy parks are to be:

Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu: two more pairs of Russian VVER units, making 6800 MWe.

Jaitapur in Maharashtra: Preliminary work at is likely soon with six of Areva's EPR reactors in view, making 9600 MWe.

Mithi Virdi (or Chayamithi Virdi) in Gujarat: to host US technology (Westinghouse AP1000).

Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh: to host US technology (GE Hitachi ESBWR - possibly ABWR).

Haripur in West Bengal: to host four further Russian VVER-1200 units, making 4800 MWe.

At Markandi (Pati Sonapur) in Orissa there are plans for up to 6000 MWe of PWR capacity. Major industrial developments are planned in that area and Orissa was the first Indian state to privatise electricity generation and transmission. State demand is expected to reach 20 billion kWh/yr by 2010.

At Kumharia in Haryana the AEC had approved the state's proposal for a 2800 MWe nuclear power plant and the site is apparently earmarked for four indigenous 700 MWe PHWR units. The northern state of Haryana is one of the country's most industrialized and has a demand of 8900 MWe, but currently generates less than 2000 MWe and imports 4000 MWe. The village of Kumharia is in Fatehabad district and the plant may be paid for by the state government or the Haryana Power Generation Corp.

Bargi in Madhya Pradesh is also designated for two indigenous 700 MWe PHWR units.

The AEC has also mentioned possible new nuclear power plants in Bihar and Jharkhand.

NTPC Plans

India's largest power company, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in 2007 proposed building a 2000 MWe nuclear power plant to be in operation by 2017. It would be the utility's first nuclear plant and also the first conventional nuclear plant not built by the government-owned NPCIL. This proposal has now become a joint venture with NPCIL holding 51%, and possibly extending to multiple projects utilising imported technology. NTPC says it aims by 2014 to have demonstrated progress in "setting up nuclear power generation capacity", and that the initial "planned nuclear portfolio of 2000 MWe by 2017" may be greater. NTPC, now 89.5% government-owned, is planning to increase its total installed capacity from 30 to 50 GWe by 2012 (72% of it coal) and 75 GWe by 2017. It is also forming joint ventures in heavy engineering.

Overseas reactor vendors

In February 2009 Areva signed a memorandum of understanding with NPCIL to build two, and later four more, EPR units at Jaitapur. This followed the government signing a nuclear cooperation agreement with France in September 2008. In July 2009 Areva submitted a bid to NPCIL to build the first two EPR units, with a view to commissioning in 2017 and 2018.

In March 2009 GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy signed agreements with NPCIL and Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) to begin planning to build a multi-unit power plant using 1350 MWe Advanced Boiling Water Reactors (ABWR), with discussion continuing regarding the site. In May 2009 L&T was brought into the picture.

In May 2009 Westinghouse signed a memorandum of understanding with NPCIL regarding deployment of its AP1000 reactors, using local components (probably from L&T).

After a break of three decades, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL) is keen to resume technical cooperation, especially in relation to servicing India's PHWRs, and there have been preliminary discussions regarding the sale of an ACR-1000.

In August 2009 NPCIL signed agreements with Korea Electric Power Co (KEPCO) to study the prospects for building Korean APR-1400 reactors in India. This will depend on establishing a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement.

The LWRs to be set up by these foreign companies are reported to have a lifetime guarantee of fuel supply.

Other arrangements

The state-owned National Aluminium Company (Nalco) has signed an agreement with NPCIL relevant to its hopes of building a 1000 MWe nuclear power plant, apparently as much to diversify as provide for its smelters.

India's national oil company, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), in November 2009 joined with NPCIL in a memorandum of understanding "for partnership in setting up nuclear power plants in India." The initial plant envisaged is at least 1000 MWe, and NPCIL will be the operator and at least 51% owner. IOC will take a 26% stake in it.

The government has announced that it intends to amend the law to allow private companies to be involved in nuclear power generation and possibly other aspects of the fuel cycle, but without direct foreign investment. In anticipation of this, Reliance Power Ltd, GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd and GMR Energy Ltd are reported to be in discussion with overseas nuclear vendors including Areva, GE-Hitachi, Westinghouse and Atomstroyexport.

NTPC is reported to be establishing a joint venture with NPCIL and BHEL to sell India's largely indigenous 220 MWe heavy water power reactor units abroad, possibly in contra deals involving uranium supply from countries such as Namibia and Mongolia.

In September 2009 the AEC announced a version of its planned Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) designed for export.

In August and September 2009 the AEC reaffirmed its commitment to the thorium fuel cycle, particularly thorium-based FBRs, to make the country a technological leader.

Fast neutron reactors

Longer term, the AEC envisages its fast reactor program being 30 to 40 times bigger than the PHWR program, and initially at least, largely in the military sphere until its "synchronised working" with the reprocessing plant is proven on an 18-24 month cycle. This will be linked with up to 40,000 MWe of light water reactor capacity, the used fuel feeding ten times that fast breeder capacity, thus "deriving much larger benefit out of the external acquisition in terms of light water reactors and their associated fuel". This 40 GWe of imported LWR multiplied to 400 GWe via FBR would complement 200-250 GWe based on the indigenous program of PHWR-FBR-AHWR (see Thorium cycle section below). Thus AEC is "talking about 500 to 600 GWe nuclear over the next 50 years or so" in India, plus export opportunities.

In 2002 the regulatory authority issued approval to start construction of a 500 MWe prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam and this is now under construction by BHAVINI. It is expected to start up in October 2010 and be operating in 2011, fuelled with uranium-plutonium oxide (the reactor-grade Pu being from its existing PHWRs). It will have a blanket with thorium and uranium to breed fissile U-233 and plutonium respectively, taking the thorium program to stage two, and setting the scene for eventual full utilisation of the country's abundant thorium to fuel reactors. Six more such 500 MWe fast reactors have been announced for construction, four of them in parallel by 2017. Two will be at Kalpakkam, two at another site.

Initial FBRs will have mixed oxide fuel or carbide fuel, but these will be followed by metallic fuelled ones to enable shorter doubling time. One of the last of the above six is to have the flexibility to convert from MOX to metallic fuel (ie a dual fuel unit), and it is planned to convert the small FBTR to metallic fuel about 2013 (see R&D section below).

Following these will be a 1000 MWe fast reactor using metallic fuel, and construction of the first is expected to start about 2020. This design is intended to be the main part of the Indian nuclear fleet from the 2020s. A fuel fabrication plant and a reprocessing plant for metal fuels are planned for Kalpakkam, the former possibly for operation in 2014.

Heavy engineering in India

India's largest engineering group, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) announced in July 2008 that it was preparing to venture into international markets for supply of heavy engineering components for nuclear reactors. It formed a 20 billion rupee (US$ 463 million) venture with NPCIL to build a new plant for domestic and export nuclear forgings at its Hazira, Surat coastal site in Gujarat state. This is now under construction. It will produce 600-tonne ingots in its steel melt shop and have a very large forging press to supply finished forgings for nuclear reactors, pressurizers and steam generators, and also heavy forgings for critical equipment in the hydrocarbon sector and for thermal power plants.

In the context of India's trade isolation over three decades L&T has produced heavy components for 17 of India's pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs) and has also secured contracts for 80% of the components for the fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam. It is qualified by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers to fabricate nuclear-grade pressure vessels and core support structures, achieving this internationally recognised quality standard in 2007. It is one of about ten major nuclear-qualified heavy engineering enterprises worldwide.

Early in 2009, L&T signed four agreements with foreign nuclear power reactor vendors. The first, with Westinghouse, sets up L&T to produce component modules for Westinghouse's AP1000 reactor. The second agreement was with Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL) "to develop a competitive cost/scope model for the ACR-1000." In April it signed an agreement with Atomstroyexport primarily focused on components for the next four VVER reactors at Kudankulam, but extending beyond that to other Russian VVER plants in India and internationally. Then in May 2009 it signed an agreement with GE Hitachi to produce major components for ABWRs from its new Hazira plant. The two companies hope to utilize indigenous Indian capabilities for the complete construction of nuclear power plants including the supply of reactor equipment and systems, valves, electrical and instrumentation products for ABWR plants to be built in India. L&T "will collaborate with GEH to engineer, manufacture, construct and provide certain construction management services" for the ABWR project.

Following the 2008 removal of trade restrictions, Indian companies led by Reliance Power (RPower), NPCIL, and BHEL said that they plan to invest over US$ 50 billion in the next five years to expand their manufacturing base in the nuclear energy sector. BHEL plans to spend $7.5 billion in two years building plants to supply components for reactors of 1,600 MWe. It also plans to set up a 50-50 venture with NPCIL that will supply turbines for nuclear plants of 700 MWe, 1,000 MWe and 1,600 MWe and will seek overseas partners to provide technology for these enterprises. In July it announced that it was close to finalising a European partner to take 30-35% of this joint venture. Another joint venture is with NPCIL and a foreign partner to make steam generators for 1000-1600 MWe plants.

HCC (Hindustan Construction Co.) has built more than half of India's nuclear power capacity, notably all 6 phases of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Project and also Kudankulam. It specializes in prestressed containment structures for reactor buildings. In September 2009 it formed a joint venture with UK-based engineering and project management firm AMEC PLC to undertake consulting services and nuclear power plant construction. HCC has an order backlog worth 10.5 billion rupees ($220 million) for nuclear projects from NPCIL and expects six nuclear reactors to be tendered by the end of 2010.

Areva signed an agreement with Bharat Forge in January 2009 to set up a joint venture in casting and forging nuclear components for both export and the domestic market, by 2012. BHEL expects to join this, and the UK's Sheffield Forgemasters will be a technical partner. The partners have shortlisted Dahej in Gujarat, and Krishnapatnam and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh as possible sites.

See also India section of Heavy Manufacturing paper.

Uranium resources in India

India's uranium resources are modest, with 54,000 tonnes U as reasonably assured resources and 23,500 tonnes as estimated additional resources in situ. Accordingly, from 2009 India is expecting to import an increasing proportion of its uranium fuel needs.

Mining and processing of uranium is carried out by Uranium Corporation of India Ltd, a subsidiary of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), at Jaduguda and Bhatin (since 1967), Narwapahar (since 1995) and Turamdih (since 2002) - all in Jharkhand near Calcutta. All are underground, the last two being modern. A common mill is located near Jaduguda, and processes 2090 tonnes per day of ore.

In 2005 and 2006 plans were announced to invest almost US$ 700 million to open further mines in Jharkand at Banduhurang, Bagjata and Mohuldih; in Meghalaya at Domiasiat-Mawthabah (with a mill) and in Andhra Pradesh at Lambapur-Peddagattu (with mill 50km away at Seripally), both in Nalgonda district.

In Jharkand, Banduhurang is India's first open cut mine and was commissioned in 2007. Bagjata is underground and was opened in December 2008, though there had been earlier small operations 1986-91. The Mohuldih underground mine is expected to operate from 2010. A new mill at Turamdih in Jharkhand, with 3000 t/day capacity, was commissioned in 2008.

In Andhra Pradesh there are three kinds of uranium mineralisation in the Cuddapah Basin, including unconformity-related deposits in the north of it. The northern Lambapur-Peddagattu project in Nalgonda district 110 km southeast of Hyderabad has environmental clearance for one open cut and three small underground mines (based on some 6000 tU resources at about 0.1%U) but faces local opposition. In August 2007 the government approved a new US$ 270 million underground mine and mill at Tummalapalle near Pulivendula in Kadapa district, at the south end of the Basin and 300 km south of Hyderabad, for commissioning in 2010. A further northern deposit near Lambapur-Peddagattu is Koppunuru, in Guntur district.

In Meghalaya, close to the Bangladesh border in the West Khasi Hills, the Domiasiat-Mawthabah mine project (near Nongbah-Jynrin) is in a high rainfall area and has also faced longstanding local opposition partly related to land acquisition issues but also fanned by a campaign of fearmongering. For this reason, and despite clear state government support in principle, UCIL does not yet have approval from the state government for the open cut mine at Kylleng-Pyndeng-Shahiong (also known as Kylleng-Pyndengshohiong-Mawthabah and formerly as Domiasiat) though pre-project development has been authorised on 422 ha. However, federal environmental approval in December 2007 for a proposed uranium mine and processing plant here and for the Nongstin mine has been reported. There is sometimes violent opposition by NGOs to uranium mine development in the West Khasi Hills, including at Domiasiat and Wakhyn, which have estimated resources of 9500 tU and 4000 tU respectively. Tyrnai is a smaller deposit in the area. The status and geography of all these is not known.

India's uranium mines and mills - existing and announced

State, district	Mine	Mill	Operating from	tU per year
Jharkhand	Jaduguda	Jaduguda	1967 (mine) 1968 (mill)	175 total from mill
	Bhatin	Jaduguda	1967
	Narwapahar	Jaduguda	1995
	Bagjata	Jaduguda	2009?
Jharkhand, East Singhbum dist.	Turamdih	Turamdih	2003 (mine) 2008 (mill)	190 total from mill
	Banduhurang	Turamdih	2007
	Mohuldih	Turamdih	2011
Meghalaya	Kylleng-Pyndeng-Shahiong (Domiasiat), Mawthabah, Wakhyn	Mawthabah	2012, maybe 2010	340
Andhra Pradesh, Nalgonda dist.	Lambapur-Peddagattu	Seripally /Mallapuram	2012	130
Andhra Pradesh, Kadapa dist.	Tummalapalle	Tummalapalle	2010	220

However, India has reserves of 290,000 tonnes of thorium - about one quarter of the world total, and these are intended to fuel its nuclear power program longer-term (see below).

In September 2009 state-owned oil company ONJC proposed to form a joint venture with UCIL to explore for uranium in Assam.

Uranium imports

By December 2008, Russia's Rosatom and Areva from France had contracted to supply uranium for power generation, while Kazakhstan, Brazil and South Africa were preparing to do so. The Russian agreement was to provide fuel for PHWRs as well as the two small Tarapur reactors, the Areva agreement was to supply 300 tU. In February 2009 the actual Russian contract was signed with TVEL to supply 2000 tonnes of natural uranium fuel pellets for PHWRs over ten years, costing $780 million, and 60 tonnes of low-enriched fuel pellets for the Tarapur reactors. The Areva shipment arrived in June 2009. RAPS-2 became the first PHWR to be fuelled with imported uranium, followed by units 5 & 6 there.

In January 2009 NPCIL signed a memorandum of understanding with Kazatomprom for supply of uranium to India and a feasibility study on building Indian PHWR reactors in Kazakhstan. NPCIL said that it represented "a mutual commitment to begin thorough discussions on long-term strategic relationship."

In September 2009 India signed uranium supply and nuclear cooperation agreements with Namibia and Mongolia.

Uranium fuel cycle

DAE's Nuclear Fuel Complex at Hyderabad undertakes refining and conversion of uranium, which is received as magnesium diuranate (yellowcake) and refined. The main 400 t/yr plant fabricates PHWR fuel (which is unenriched). A small (25 t/yr) fabrication plant makes fuel for the Tarapur BWRs from imported enriched (2.66% U-235) uranium. Depleted uranium oxide fuel pellets (from reprocessed uranium) and thorium oxide pellets are also made for PHWR fuel bundles. Mixed carbide fuel for FBTR was first fabricated by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in 1979.

Heavy water is supplied by DAE's Heavy Water Board, and the seven plants are working at capacity due to the current building program.

A very small enrichment plant - insufficient even for the Tarapur reactors - is operated by DAE's Rare Materials Plant at Ratnahalli near Mysore. Some centrifuge R&D is undertaken by BARC.

Fuel fabrication is by the Nuclear Fuel Complex in Hyderabad, which is setting up a new 500 t/yr PHWR fuel plant at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan, to serve the larger new reactors. Each 700 MWe reactor is said to need 125 t/yr of fuel. The company is proposing joint ventures with US, French and Russian companies to produce fuel for those reactors.

Reprocessing: Used fuel from the civil PHWRs is reprocessed by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) at Trombay, Tarapur and Kalpakkam to extract reactor-grade plutonium for use in the fast breeder reactors. Small plants at each site were supplemented by a new Kalpakkam plant of some 100 t/yr commissioned in 1998, and this is being extended to reprocess FBTR carbide fuel. Apart from this all reprocessing uses the Purex process. Further capacity is being built at Tarapur and Kalpakkam, to come on line by about 2010. India will reprocess the used fuel from the Kudankulam reactors and will keep the plutonium.

In 2003 a facility was commissioned at Kalpakkam to reprocess mixed carbide fuel using an advanced Purex process. Future FBRs will also have these facilities co-located.

The PFBR and the next four FBRs to be commissioned by 2020 will use oxide fuel. After that it is expected that metal fuel with higher breeding capability will be introduced and burn-up is intended to increase from 100 to 200 GWd/t.

To close the FBR fuel cycle a fast reactor fuel cycle facility is planned, with construction to begin in 2008 and operation to coincide with the need to reprocess the first PFBR fuel.

Under plans for the India-specific safeguards to be administered by the IAEA in relation to the civil-military separation plan several fuel fabrication facilities will come under safeguards.

Thorium fuel cycle development in India

The long-term goal of India's nuclear program has been to develop an advanced heavy-water thorium cycle.The first stage of this employs the PHWRs fuelled by natural uranium, and light water reactors, to produce plutonium.

Stage 2 uses fast neutron reactors burning the plutonium to breed U-233 from thorium. The blanket around the core will have uranium as well as thorium, so that further plutonium (ideally high-fissile Pu) is produced as well as the U-233.

Then in stage 3, Advanced Heavy Water Reactors (AHWRs) burn the U-233 from stage 2 and this plutonium with thorium, getting about two thirds of their power from the thorium.

In 2002 the regulatory authority issued approval to start construction of a 500 MWe prototype fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam and this is now under construction by BHAVINI. The unit is expected to be operating in 2011, fuelled with uranium-plutonium oxide (the reactor-grade Pu being from its existing PHWRs). It will have a blanket with thorium and uranium to breed fissile U-233 and plutonium respectively. This will take India's ambitious thorium program to stage 2, and set the scene for eventual full utilisation of the country's abundant thorium to fuel reactors. Six more such 500 MWe fast reactors have been announced for construction, four of them by 2020.

So far about one tonne of thorium oxide fuel has been irradiated experimentally in PHWR reactors and has reprocessed and some of this has been reprocessed, according to BARC. A reprocessing centre for thorium fuels is being set up at Kalpakkam.

Design is largely complete for the first 300 MWe AHWR, intended to be built in the 11th plan period to 2012, though no site has yet been announced. It will have vertical pressure tubes in which the light water coolant under high pressure will boil, circulation being by convection. A large heat sink - "Gravity-driven water pool" - with 7000 cubic metres of water is near the top of the reactor building. In April 2008 an AHWR critical facility was commissioned at BARC “to conduct a wide range of experiments, to help validate the reactor physics of the AHWR through computer codes and in generating nuclear data about materials, such as thorium-uranium 233 based fuel, which have not been extensively used in the past.” It has all the components of the AHWR’s core including fuel and moderator, and can be operated in different modes with various kinds of fuel in different configurations.

In 2009 the AEC announced some features of the 300 MWe AHWR: It is mainly a thorium-fuelled reactor with several advanced passive safety features to enable meeting next generation safety requirements such as three days grace period for operator response, elimination of the need for exclusion zone beyond the plant boundary, 100-year design life, and high level of fault tolerance. The advanced safety characteristics have been verified in a series of experiments carried out in full-scale test facilities. Also, per unit of energy produced, the amount of long-lived minor actinides generated is nearly half of that produced in current generation Light Water Reactors. Importantly, a high level of radioactivity in the fissile and fertile materials recovered from the used fuel of AHWR, and their isotopic composition, preclude the use of these materials for nuclear weapons.

At the same time the AEC announced an LEU version of the AHWR. This will use low-enriched uranium plus thorium as a fuel, dispensing with the plutonium input. About 39% of the power will come from thorium (via in situ conversion to U-233, cf two thirds in AHWR), and burn-up will be 64 GWd/t. Uranium enrichment level will be 19.75%, giving 4.21% average fissile content of the U-Th fuel. While designed for closed fuel cycle, this is not required. Plutonium production will be less than in light water reactors, and the fissile proportion will be less and the Pu-238 portion three times as high, giving inherent proliferation resistance. The design is intended for overseas sales, and the AEC says that "the reactor is manageable with modest industrial infrastructure within the reach of developing countries".

Radioactive Waste Management in India

Radioactive wastes from the nuclear reactors and reprocessing plants are treated and stored at each site. Waste immobilisation plants are in operation at Tarapur and Trombay and another is being constructed at Kalpakkam. Research on final disposal of high-level and long-lived wastes in a geological repository is in progress at BARC.

Regulation and safety

The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was established in 1948 under the Atomic Energy Act as a policy body. Then in 1954 the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was set up to encompass research, technology development and commercial reactor operation. The current Atomic Energy Act is 1962, and it permits only government-owned enterprises to be involved in nuclear power.

The DAE includes NPCIL, Uranium Corporation of India (mining and processing), Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (reactor control and instrumentation) and BHAVIN* (for setting up fast reactors). The government also controls the Heavy Water Board for production of heavy water and the Nuclear Fuel Complex for fuel and component manufacture.

* Bhartiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd

The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) was formed in 1983 and comes under the AEC but is independent of DAE. It is responsible for the regulation and licensing of all nuclear facilities, and their safety and carries authority conferred by the Atomic Energy Act for radiation safety and by the Factories Act for industrial safety in nuclear plants.

NPCIL is an active participant in the programmes of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO).

Research & Development

An early AEC decision was to set up the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) at Trombay near Mumbai. A series of 'research' reactors and critical facilities was built here: APSARA (1 MW, operating from 1956) was the first research reactor in Asia, Cirus (40 MW, 1960) and Dhruva (100 MW, 1985) followed it along with fuel cycle facilities. The Cirus and Dhruva units are assumed to be for military purposes, as is the plutonium plant commissioned in 1965. The government has undertaken to shut down CIRUS in 2010.

BARC is also responsible for the transition to thorium-based systems and in particular is developing the 300 MWe AHWR as a technology demonstration project. This will be a vertical pressure tube design with heavy water moderator, boiling light water cooling with passive safety design and thorium-plutonium based fuel. A large critical facility to validate the reactor physics of the AHWR core has been commissioned at BARC.

A series of three Purnima research reactors have explored the thorium cycle, the first (1971) running on plutonium fuel fabricated at BARC, the second and third (1984 & 1990) on U-233 fuel made from thorium - U-233 having been first separated in 1970. All three are now decommissioned.

In 1998 a 500 keV accelerator was commissioned at BARC for research on accelerator-driven subcritical systems as an option for stage three of the thorium cycle.

There are plans for a new 30 MWt multi-purpose research reactor for radioisotope production, testing nuclear fuel and reactor materials, and basic research. It is to be capable of conversion to an accelerator-driven system later.

Two civil research reactors at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research at Kalpakkam are preparing for stage two of the thorium cycle. The 40 MWt fast breeder test reactor (FBTR) has been operating since 1985, and has achieved 165 GWday/tonne burnup with its carbide fuel (70% PuC + 30% UC) without any fuel failure. In 2005 the FBTR fuel cycle was closed, with the reprocessing of 100 GWd/t fuel - claimed as a world first. This has been made into new mixed carbide fuel for FBTR. Prototype FBR fuel which is under irradiation testing in FBTR has reached a burnup of 90 GWd/tonne. FBTR is based on the French Rapsodie FBR design. Also the tiny Kamini (Kalpakkam mini) reactor is exploring the use of thorium as nuclear fuel, by breeding fissile U-233. BHAVINI is located here and draws upon the centre's expertise and that of NPCIL in establishing the fast reactor program.

As part of developing higher-burnup fuel for PHWRs mixed oxide (MOX) fuel is being used experimentally in FBTR, which is now operating with a hybrid core of mixed carbide and mixed oxide fuel (the high-Pu MOX forming 20% of the core).

A 150 MWe fast breeder reactor as a test bed for using metallic fuel is envisaged once several MOX-fuelled fast reactors are in operation.

A Compact High-Temperature Reactor (CHTR) is being designed to have long (15 year) core life and employ liquid metal (Pb-Bi) coolant. There are also designs for HTRs up to 600 MWt for hydrogen production and a 5 MWt multi-purpose nuclear power pack.

The Board of Radiation & Isotope Technology was separated from BARC in 1989 and is responsible for radioisotope production. The research reactors APSARA, CIRUS and Dhruva are used, along with RAPS for cobalt-60.

BARC has used nuclear techniques to develop 37 genetically-modified crop varieties for commercial cultivation. A total of 15 sterilising facilities, particularly for preserving food, are now operational with more under construction. Radiation technology has also helped India increase its exports of food items, including to the most developed markets in the world.

India's hybrid Nuclear Desalination Demonstration Plant (NDDP) at Kalpakkam, comprises a Reverse Osmosis (RO) unit of 1.8 million litres per day commissioned in 2002 and a Multi Stage Flash (MSF) desalination unit of 4.5 million litres per day, as well as a barge-mounted RO unit commissioned recently, to help address the shortage of water in water-stressed coastal areas. It uses about 4 MWe from the Madras nuclear power station.

Non-proliferation, US-India agreement and Nuclear Suppliers' Group

India's nuclear industry has been largely without IAEA safeguards, though four nuclear power plants (see above) have been under facility-specific arrangements related to India's INFCIRC/66 safeguards agreement with IAEA. However, in October 2009 India's safeguards agreement with the IAEA became operational, with the government confirming that 14 reactor will be put under the India Specific Safeguards Agreement by 2014.

India's situation as a nuclear-armed country excluded it from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)* so this and the related lack of full-scope IAEA safeguards meant that India was isolated from world trade by the Nuclear Suppliers' Group. A clean waiver to the trade embargo was agreed in September 2008 in recognition of the country's impeccable non-proliferation credentials. India has always been scrupulous in ensuring that its weapons material and technology are guarded against commercial or illicit export to other countries.
* India could only join the NPT if it disarmed and joined as a Non Nuclear Weapons State, which is politically impossible. See Appendix.

Following the 2005 agreement between US and Indian heads of state on nuclear energy cooperation, the UK indicated its strong support for greater cooperation and France then Canada then moved in the same direction. The US Department of Commerce, the UK and Canada relaxed controls on export of technology to India, though staying within the Nuclear Suppliers Group guidelines. The French government said it would seek a nuclear cooperation agreement, and Canada agreed to "pursue further opportunities for the development of the peaceful uses of atomic energy" with India.

In December 2006 the US Congress passed legislation to enable nuclear trade with India. Then in July 2007 a nuclear cooperation agreement with India was finalized, opening the way for India's participation in international commerce in nuclear fuel and equipment and requiring India to put most of the country's nuclear power reactors under IAEA safeguards and close down the CIRUS research reactor in 2010. It would allow India to reprocess US-origin and other foreign-sourced nuclear fuel at a new national plant under IAEA safeguards. This would be used for fuel arising from those 14 reactors designated as unambiguously civilian and under full IAEA safeguards.

The IAEA greeted the deal as being "a creative break with the past" - where India was excluded from the NPT. After much delay in India's parliament, it then set up a new and comprehensive safeguards agreement with the IAEA, plus an Additional Protocol. The IAEA board approved this in July 2008, after the agreement had threatened to bring down the Indian government. The agreement is similar to those between IAEA and non nuclear weapons states, notably Infcirc-66, the IAEA's information circular that lays out procedures for applying facility-specific safeguards, hence much more restrictive than many in India's parliament wanted.

The next step in bringing India into the fold was the consensus resolution of the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in September 2008 to exempt India from its rule of prohibiting trade with non-members of the NPT. A bilateral trade agreement then went to US Congress for final approval. Similar agreements will apply with Russia and France. The ultimate objective is to put India on the same footing as China in resp