UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — PARLIAMENT QUESTION: NUCLEAR ENERGY MISSION
Q1. Consider the following statements regarding the two-pronged reactor strategy under India's Nuclear Energy Mission for Viksit Bharat:
1. Large reactors — 700 MWe indigenous PHWRs and large-capacity imported reactors — are planned at greenfield sites for rapid capacity addition, while the small reactor designs are intended for brownfield sites.
2. The BSMR-200 is aimed at repurposing retiring thermal power stations and at captive power for energy-intensive industries such as aluminium, steel and cement, whereas the SMR-55 is aimed at remote and off-grid locations.
3. The lead unit of the BSMR-200 is proposed at the Tarapur site in Maharashtra, while the lead unit of the SMR-55 is proposed at the Kalpakkam site in Tamil Nadu.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Large reactors — 700 MWe indigenous PHWRs and large-capacity imported reactors — are planned at greenfield sites for rapid capacity addition, while the small reactor designs are intended for brownfield sites.
- The BSMR-200 is aimed at repurposing retiring thermal power stations and at captive power for energy-intensive industries such as aluminium, steel and cement, whereas the SMR-55 is aimed at remote and off-grid locations.
- The lead unit of the BSMR-200 is proposed at the Tarapur site in Maharashtra, while the lead unit of the SMR-55 is proposed at the Kalpakkam site in Tamil Nadu.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q2. The Nuclear Energy Mission for research and development of Small Modular Reactors, carrying an outlay of ₹20,000 crore and a goal of at least five indigenously designed operational SMRs by 2033, was announced through which one of the following?
- A. The Union Budget 2025-26 presented in Parliament
- B. The SHANTI Act, 2025 passed by both Houses of Parliament
- C. The National Electricity Plan notified by the Ministry of Power
- D. India's Panchamrit commitments announced by the Prime Minister at COP26
Q3. Under the SHANTI Act, 2025, a private entity proposing to set up a nuclear facility must obtain the licence for that purpose from which one of the following?
- A. The Central Government
- B. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board
- C. The Atomic Energy Commission, chaired by the Secretary, DAE
- D. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, a PSU under DAE
Q4. The SHANTI Act, 2025 is described as a landmark because it is the first Indian statute to do which one of the following?
- A. Open nuclear energy generation to private participation, ending the state monopoly under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962
- B. Create an entirely unlimited liability regime for all operators of every category of nuclear installation
- C. Place the mining and processing of all uranium ore permanently under a single public sector undertaking
- D. Permit the unrestricted commercial export of indigenously fabricated nuclear fuel to all foreign operators
Q5. Once a private entity has been licensed to set up a nuclear facility, the safety authorisation for that facility is issued by which one of the following?
- A. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, the R&D unit of DAE
- B. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board
- C. The Department of Atomic Energy, functioning under the Prime Minister
- D. The Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam
Q6. With reference to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), consider the following:
1. It was constituted in 1983 by the President of India in exercise of powers conferred by the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.
2. Besides the Atomic Energy Act, its regulatory authority is drawn from rules and notifications under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
3. The SHANTI Act, 2025 confers formal statutory recognition on it as the body carrying out safety oversight.
4. It is the authority that grants the licence to a private entity for the production, use and disposal of nuclear energy.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- It was constituted in 1983 by the President of India in exercise of powers conferred by the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.
- Besides the Atomic Energy Act, its regulatory authority is drawn from rules and notifications under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
- The SHANTI Act, 2025 confers formal statutory recognition on it as the body carrying out safety oversight.
- It is the authority that grants the licence to a private entity for the production, use and disposal of nuclear energy.
- A. 1, 2 and 3
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 1 and 4 only
- D. 3 only
Q7. Consider the following statements about the fast breeder reactor programme at Kalpakkam:
1. The 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor attained first criticality on 6 April 2026, and its technology development and design were carried out indigenously by IGCAR.
2. The PFBR belongs to Stage II of the three-stage programme and runs on plutonium recovered from the spent fuel of the Stage I pressurised heavy water reactors.
3. Pre-project activities for the 2 x 500 MWe twin unit FBR-1&2 have been approved, with financial sanction to be sought after the PFBR attained first criticality.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor attained first criticality on 6 April 2026, and its technology development and design were carried out indigenously by IGCAR.
- The PFBR belongs to Stage II of the three-stage programme and runs on plutonium recovered from the spent fuel of the Stage I pressurised heavy water reactors.
- Pre-project activities for the 2 x 500 MWe twin unit FBR-1&2 have been approved, with financial sanction to be sought after the PFBR attained first criticality.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q8. In India's three-stage nuclear power programme, thorium is classified as a fertile material. In this context, the classification means that thorium:
- A. Undergoes fission directly with fast neutrons and needs no prior conversion in a reactor
- B. Must first be converted in a reactor into fissile uranium-233 before it can yield fission energy
- C. Acts chiefly as a neutron moderator that slows down neutrons in the reactor core
- D. Occurs in India in quantities too small to sustain any commercial power programme
Q9. Which one of the following correctly describes the fuel and the role of heavy water in India's indigenous pressurised heavy water reactors?
- A. Natural uranium as fuel, with heavy water serving as both moderator and coolant
- B. Low enriched uranium as fuel, with heavy water serving only as the primary coolant
- C. Mixed plutonium-uranium oxide fuel, with heavy water used only in the secondary circuit
- D. Natural uranium as fuel, with graphite as moderator and heavy water as the coolant
Q10. Consider the following pairs of nuclear installation and its location:
1. Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor — Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu
2. Lead unit of the BSMR-200 — Tarapur, Maharashtra
3. Kaiga Atomic Power Station — Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka
4. Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project — Tirunelveli district, Andhra Pradesh
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor — Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu
- Lead unit of the BSMR-200 — Tarapur, Maharashtra
- Kaiga Atomic Power Station — Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka
- Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project — Tirunelveli district, Andhra Pradesh
- A. 1, 2 and 3
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 1 and 4 only
- D. 3 and 4
Q11. In India's atomic energy set-up, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited is best described as:
- A. The research and development unit of the Department of Atomic Energy
- B. A public sector enterprise of DAE that builds and operates nuclear power plants
- C. The apex policy body of the nuclear establishment, headed by the Secretary, DAE
- D. The public sector undertaking mandated to mine and process uranium ore in the country
Q12. Of the nuclear reactors for which the Government has accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for construction, the single largest block by number of units consists of:
- A. Ten indigenous 700 MW pressurised heavy water reactors to be built in fleet mode
- B. Two 1000 MW light water reactor units set up in cooperation with the Russian Federation
- C. Two 500 MWe fast breeder reactor units forming the FBR-1&2 twin unit at Kalpakkam
- D. Five indigenously designed small modular reactors targeted to be operational by 2033