UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — PARLIAMENT QUESTION: NUCLEAR ENERGY

Q1. The Nuclear Energy Mission, including the road-map for indigenous Small Modular Reactors, is operationalised primarily through which one of the following?

  • A. Department of Atomic Energy
  • B. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
  • C. Ministry of Power
  • D. Department of Science and Technology

Q2. In the context of India's nuclear sector reforms, the acronym 'SHANTI' in the SHANTI Bill/Act, 2025 stands for which one of the following?

  • A. Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India
  • B. Safe Handling and Networked Transmission of Indigenous Nuclear Energy
  • C. Strategic Harmonisation of Atomic and Nuclear Technology Infrastructure
  • D. Sustainable Harnessing of Atomic Nuclear Technology for Industry

Q3. Under the SHANTI Act, 2025, which permits private participation in the nuclear sector, how many of the following core activities are retained exclusively under the Central Government: enrichment of nuclear material; production of heavy water; management of spent fuel beyond on-site storage; and construction of nuclear power plants?

  • A. One
  • B. Two
  • C. Three
  • D. Four

Q4. Prior to the 2025 reforms, which one of the following statements correctly describes who could own and operate nuclear power plants in India under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962?

  • A. Only Central Government-owned companies such as NPCIL and BHAVINI
  • B. Any Indian private company holding a licence from the atomic energy regulator
  • C. Only joint ventures formed between Indian private firms and foreign suppliers
  • D. State government undertakings designated by the respective State legislatures

Q5. The near-total central-government monopoly over nuclear power generation in India — restricting ownership and operation to government companies — was established under which one of the following?

  • A. The Atomic Energy Act, 1962
  • B. The Atomic Energy Act, 1948
  • C. The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010
  • D. The SHANTI Act, 2025

Q6. The Atomic Energy Commission was constituted in 1948 and the Department of Atomic Energy was established later, in 1954. How many years separated the two events?

  • A. Four
  • B. Six
  • C. Eight
  • D. Ten

Q7. Which one of the following correctly describes the administrative position of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) within the Government of India?

  • A. It functions under the direct charge of the Prime Minister
  • B. It functions under the Ministry of Power
  • C. It is an attached office of the Ministry of Science and Technology
  • D. It functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

Q8. India's indigenous nuclear power programme, conceived by Homi Bhabha to exploit the country's thorium reserves, is built around how many sequential stages?

  • A. Two
  • B. Three
  • C. Four
  • D. Five

Q9. The September 2008 Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) waiver was described as unprecedented primarily because India became the first state to be granted full civil nuclear cooperation despite not being a signatory to which one of the following?

  • A. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)
  • B. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)
  • C. The India-specific IAEA safeguards agreement
  • D. The Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC)