UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — The right path for India’s nuclear power development
Q1. Consider the following statements comparing the international nuclear order before and after India's 1974 Pokhran test:
1. The Nuclear Suppliers Group was founded as a direct response to the 1974 Indian nuclear explosion, which had used civilian technology obtained through the Atoms for Peace programme.
2. Unlike the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which the founding supplier states judged to have no provision preventing non-parties from diverting civilian technology to military use, the supplier group's answer was a 'trigger list' of controlled nuclear items agreed in 1978.
3. The 1974 device tested at Pokhran had a yield later estimated at over 45 kilotons, substantially larger than any device tested by India in 1998.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The Nuclear Suppliers Group was founded as a direct response to the 1974 Indian nuclear explosion, which had used civilian technology obtained through the Atoms for Peace programme.
- Unlike the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which the founding supplier states judged to have no provision preventing non-parties from diverting civilian technology to military use, the supplier group's answer was a 'trigger list' of controlled nuclear items agreed in 1978.
- The 1974 device tested at Pokhran had a yield later estimated at over 45 kilotons, substantially larger than any device tested by India in 1998.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q2. Decades of post-1974 technology denial pushed India to design and manufacture reactor components domestically. What is the unit size of the largest indigenously designed Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor being built by India today?
- A. 220 MWe
- B. 500 MWe
- C. 540 MWe
- D. 700 MWe
Q3. Which one of the following was the essential multilateral step that first made it legally possible for India to resume civil nuclear commerce with supplier countries in 2008?
- A. The country-specific exemption granted to India from the Nuclear Suppliers Group guidelines
- B. India's accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
- C. India's ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
- D. India's accession to the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage
Q4. With reference to the commitments India undertook as part of the 2008 civil nuclear cooperation arrangements, consider the following:
1. Identification and separation of civilian and military nuclear facilities in a phased manner, the identification being done by the Government of India.
2. Placing of India's civilian nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards.
3. Signing of an Additional Protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
4. Accession to the Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear-weapon State and consequent full-scope safeguards on all facilities.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- Identification and separation of civilian and military nuclear facilities in a phased manner, the identification being done by the Government of India.
- Placing of India's civilian nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards.
- Signing of an Additional Protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
- Accession to the Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear-weapon State and consequent full-scope safeguards on all facilities.
- A. 1 and 4
- B. 4 only
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 2 only
Q5. With the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam attaining first criticality on 6 April 2026, India became the second country in the world to operate a commercial-scale Fast Breeder Reactor, after which one of the following?
- A. France
- B. Japan
- C. Russia
- D. China
Q6. With reference to India's three-stage nuclear power programme and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR), consider the following:
1. Stage 1 uses natural uranium in Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors, whose spent fuel yields plutonium.
2. The PFBR runs on Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel derived from reprocessed spent fuel of PHWRs, and breeds more fissile material than it consumes by converting Uranium-238.
3. Stage 3 is designed to exploit India's thorium at scale by using Uranium-233 bred in the earlier stage.
4. The PFBR is a 500 MWe reactor whose technology was developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and which is operated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- Stage 1 uses natural uranium in Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors, whose spent fuel yields plutonium.
- The PFBR runs on Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel derived from reprocessed spent fuel of PHWRs, and breeds more fissile material than it consumes by converting Uranium-238.
- Stage 3 is designed to exploit India's thorium at scale by using Uranium-233 bred in the earlier stage.
- The PFBR is a 500 MWe reactor whose technology was developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and which is operated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 4 only
- D. 3 and 4
Q7. The Nuclear Energy Mission for research and development of Small Modular Reactors, carrying an outlay of ₹20,000 crore, was announced under which one of the following?
- A. The Union Budget 2025-26
- B. The SHANTI Act, 2025
- C. The National Electricity Plan notified by the Central Electricity Authority
- D. The Atomic Energy (Amendment) Act, 2015
Q8. With reference to India's Nuclear Energy Mission and its associated capacity targets, consider the following:
1. The Mission envisages at least five indigenously designed Small Modular Reactors being operational by 2033.
2. Installed nuclear capacity is targeted to rise from about 8,180 MW to 22,480 MW by 2031-32.
3. A target of 100 GW of installed nuclear capacity has been set for 2047.
4. The Small Modular Reactor programme under the Mission is coordinated by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The Mission envisages at least five indigenously designed Small Modular Reactors being operational by 2033.
- Installed nuclear capacity is targeted to rise from about 8,180 MW to 22,480 MW by 2031-32.
- A target of 100 GW of installed nuclear capacity has been set for 2047.
- The Small Modular Reactor programme under the Mission is coordinated by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
- A. 1 and 3 only
- B. 2 and 4 only
- C. 1, 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q9. With reference to the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act, 2025, consider the following:
1. It repeals the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 as well as the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.
2. It confers statutory recognition on the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
3. Licences to build, own or operate a nuclear plant may be granted to joint ventures between government entities and private companies, but not to a company incorporated outside India.
4. It retains a single uniform statutory cap on the nuclear operator's liability, unchanged from the earlier law.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- It repeals the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 as well as the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.
- It confers statutory recognition on the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
- Licences to build, own or operate a nuclear plant may be granted to joint ventures between government entities and private companies, but not to a company incorporated outside India.
- It retains a single uniform statutory cap on the nuclear operator's liability, unchanged from the earlier law.
- A. 1, 2 and 3
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 1 and 4
- D. 3 only
Q10. Consider the following pairs of organisations and their roles in India's nuclear establishment:
1. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited — design, construction and operation of India's commercial nuclear power plants.
2. Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited — implementation of the fast breeder reactor programme, including the reactor at Kalpakkam.
3. Atomic Energy Regulatory Board — regulation of nuclear and radiation safety, including clearance for first approach to criticality of a reactor.
4. Central Electricity Authority — the research and development centre under the Department of Atomic Energy that developed the technology for the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor.
Which of the pairs given above is/are NOT correctly matched?
- Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited — design, construction and operation of India's commercial nuclear power plants.
- Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited — implementation of the fast breeder reactor programme, including the reactor at Kalpakkam.
- Atomic Energy Regulatory Board — regulation of nuclear and radiation safety, including clearance for first approach to criticality of a reactor.
- Central Electricity Authority — the research and development centre under the Department of Atomic Energy that developed the technology for the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 4 only
- D. 1 and 4
Q11. Which one of the following is the agency responsible for the survey and exploration of atomic minerals and for estimating India's uranium and thorium (monazite) resources?
- A. Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research
- B. Uranium Corporation of India Limited
- C. Geological Survey of India
- D. Indian Rare Earths Limited
Q12. India's application for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a body whose decisions are taken by consensus among participating governments, is pursued on India's behalf by which one of the following?
- A. The Department of Atomic Energy
- B. The Ministry of External Affairs
- C. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board
- D. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited