UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Prime Minister congratulates scientists and engineers as Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam attains criticality

Q1. India's three-stage nuclear power programme, into whose second stage the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor's criticality marks India's entry, was originally conceived by which one of the following?

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

Q2. Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd (BHAVINI), the public sector undertaking that built and operates the PFBR, functions under which one of the following?

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

Q3. With the PFBR attaining criticality, India becomes only which one of the following in the world to operate a commercial-scale fast breeder reactor?

  • A. The first country
  • B. The second country
  • C. The third country
  • D. The fourth country

Q4. The research and development of India's fast breeder reactor technology, which culminated in the PFBR, has been spearheaded by which one of the following institutions?

  • A. Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR)
  • B. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)
  • C. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL)
  • D. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)

Q5. Unlike water-cooled thermal reactors such as the PHWR, the PFBR uses which one of the following as its primary coolant?

  • A. Liquid sodium
  • B. Heavy water
  • C. Light water
  • D. Carbon dioxide gas

Q6. India's atomic energy activities, including the reactor programme aimed at eventual thorium utilisation, are governed under which one of the following legislations?

  • A. The Atomic Energy Act, 1962
  • B. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957
  • C. The Electricity Act, 2003
  • D. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

Q7. Within India's nuclear establishment, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. The body that lays down radiation-safety standards and grants regulatory consents for nuclear and radiation facilities
  • B. The R&D centre that designs India's nuclear reactors
  • C. The public sector utility that operates India's nuclear power plants
  • D. The corporation that mines and processes uranium ore

Q8. Before India, the only country operating a commercial-scale fast breeder reactor (such as the BN-800) is which one of the following?

  • A. Russia
  • B. China
  • C. France
  • D. Japan