UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Experts clash over HALEU-Th fuel for Indian nuclear reactors

Q1. In the recent HALEU-Th (ANEEL) fuel controversy, which Indian public sector entity has entered into an agreement with Clean Core Thorium Energy (CCTE) to explore deployment of ANEEL fuel in Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors?

  • A. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL)
  • B. NTPC Limited
  • C. Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI)
  • D. Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL)

Q2. What is the upper bound of U-235 enrichment, by percentage, that characterises 'High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium' (HALEU) used in ANEEL-type fuels?

  • A. 5%
  • B. 19.75%
  • C. 20%
  • D. 90%

Q3. India's third indigenously designed 700 MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor — the largest indigenous PHWR variant proposed as a candidate for ANEEL fuel — commenced commercial operation at the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station in which year?

  • A. 2021
  • B. 2023
  • C. 2024
  • D. 2025

Q4. In the context of the HALEU-Th fuel debate, the description of thorium-232 as a 'fertile' material means that it

  • A. undergoes fission directly upon absorbing a thermal neutron, releasing usable energy
  • B. absorbs a neutron and is transmuted into a fissile nuclide (U-233) which can then sustain a chain reaction
  • C. acts as a neutron moderator, slowing fast neutrons to thermal energies inside the reactor core
  • D. spontaneously fissions at room temperature, producing a steady neutron flux without external triggering

Q5. Private sector participation in building, owning and operating nuclear power plants in India — the legal precondition for the NTPC–CCTE ANEEL collaboration — has been enabled under which one of the following statutes?

  • A. The Atomic Energy Act, 1962
  • B. The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010
  • C. The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act, 2025
  • D. The Electricity Act, 2003