UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Use of nuclear devices for oil recovery possible

Q1. The international agreement that first barred nuclear-test explosions in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water — while leaving underground explosions such as India's 1974 device entirely outside its scope — was which one of the following?

  • A. The Partial Test Ban Treaty, 1963
  • B. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, 1968
  • C. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, 1996
  • D. The Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty, 1976

Q2. Which country ran the first large-scale, formally organised programme dedicated to developing peaceful (civilian/industrial) uses of nuclear explosions?

  • A. United States
  • B. Soviet Union
  • C. India
  • D. France

Q3. With reference to India's 1974 Pokhran-I test (Smiling Buddha), consider the following statements. Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

  1. It was conducted at the Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan.
  2. The device was a plutonium-based implosion-type design.
  3. The plutonium was derived from the spent fuel of the CIRUS research reactor at Trombay.
  4. India officially declared it a weapons test and simultaneously proclaimed itself a nuclear-weapon state.
  • A. 4 only
  • B. 1 and 2
  • C. 3 only
  • D. 2 and 4

Q4. With reference to the 1974 Pokhran-I test, consider the following statements. Which of the statements given above is/are correctly identified?

  1. The test was carried out on 18 May 1974.
  2. Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister of India at the time of the test.
  3. India's Ministry of External Affairs designates the test as Pokhran-I.
  4. International reaction to the test contributed to the creation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
  • A. 1, 3 and 4
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2 and 4 only
  • D. 1 and 2

Q5. In the context of India's nuclear programme, the term 'CIRUS' most accurately refers to which one of the following?

  • A. A Canada-supplied research reactor at Trombay whose spent fuel yielded the plutonium used in the 1974 test
  • B. The plutonium reprocessing plant that separated fissile material for the 1974 device
  • C. The internal codename assigned to the 1974 nuclear device before detonation
  • D. India's first indigenously built pressurised heavy-water power reactor

Q6. With reference to the institutional and legal framework of India's atomic energy sector, consider the following statements. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Department of Atomic Energy was established in 1954 under the direct charge of the Prime Minister.
  2. India's atomic energy activities have been governed by the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.
  3. The Atomic Energy Commission was constituted only after the Department of Atomic Energy was created.
  4. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre was earlier known as the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay.
  • A. 1, 2 and 4
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q7. The 1967 experiment that first tested the use of an underground nuclear explosion to stimulate natural-gas production in the United States was carried out under which one of the following programmes?

  • A. Project Plowshare
  • B. The Manhattan Project
  • C. Operation Plumbbob
  • D. Nuclear Explosions for the National Economy

Q8. Which one of the following was the first US joint government-industry nuclear experiment specifically aimed at stimulating natural-gas production?

  • A. Project Gasbuggy (1967)
  • B. Project Rulison (1969)
  • C. Project Rio Blanco (1973)
  • D. Project Sedan (1962)

Q9. Which one of the following is the foremost declared principle of India's nuclear doctrine governing the circumstances of nuclear-weapon use?

  • A. No First Use
  • B. Pre-emptive counterforce strike
  • C. Launch on warning
  • D. First use against non-nuclear threats

Q10. Consider the following pairings relating to India's nuclear history. Which of the pairings given above is/are NOT correctly matched?

  1. Pokhran-I (Smiling Buddha) — 1974
  2. Operation Shakti (Pokhran-II) — 1998
  3. Release of India's Draft Nuclear Doctrine — 1999
  4. India's accession to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty — 1968
  • A. 4 only
  • B. 1 and 2
  • C. 3 and 4
  • D. 2 only

Q11. Who held the office of Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India when the Smiling Buddha test was conducted in May 1974?

  • A. Homi N. Sethna
  • B. Homi J. Bhabha
  • C. Raja Ramanna
  • D. Vikram Sarabhai

Q12. Under India's Nuclear Energy Mission announced in the 2025-26 Union Budget, the term 'Small Modular Reactor (SMR)' is best defined as which one of the following?

  • A. An advanced reactor of up to about 300 MWe per unit, factory-fabricated and transportable for modular deployment
  • B. Any existing reactor below 1,000 MWe that runs entirely on indigenously mined uranium
  • C. A decommissioned research reactor repurposed for medical-isotope production
  • D. A fusion-based reactor designed for continuous baseload generation