UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Dr. Jitendra Singh Presents Government’s Roadmap for a Self-Reliant and Globally Competitive Nuclear Energy Ecosystem in Lok Sabha
Q1. The Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam, which marks the commencement of the second stage of India's three-stage nuclear power programme, has a design capacity of how many MWe?
- A. 220 MWe
- B. 300 MWe
- C. 500 MWe
- D. 700 MWe
Q2. With reference to India's three-stage nuclear power programme, consider the following statements:
1. Stage 1 uses natural uranium as fuel in Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors, generating plutonium as a by-product.
2. Stage 2 uses plutonium-fuelled Fast Breeder Reactors which breed uranium-233 from thorium blankets.
3. Stage 3 reactors are designed to run on the plutonium-239 bred in Stage 2, blended with depleted uranium.
4. The Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam is operated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, the public sector undertaking that operates India's fleet of power reactors.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- Stage 1 uses natural uranium as fuel in Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors, generating plutonium as a by-product.
- Stage 2 uses plutonium-fuelled Fast Breeder Reactors which breed uranium-233 from thorium blankets.
- Stage 3 reactors are designed to run on the plutonium-239 bred in Stage 2, blended with depleted uranium.
- The Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam is operated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, the public sector undertaking that operates India's fleet of power reactors.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q3. Consider the following statements comparing the SHANTI Act, 2025 with the legal regime it replaced:
1. Whereas the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 permitted licences only to government entities, the new Act allows licences to private companies other than those incorporated outside India.
2. The uniform operator liability cap of Rs 1,500 crore under the Act of 2010 is replaced by a graded liability ranging from Rs 100 crore to Rs 3,000 crore.
3. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, constituted in 1962 in the same year as the erstwhile parent Act, has now been given statutory status.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Whereas the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 permitted licences only to government entities, the new Act allows licences to private companies other than those incorporated outside India.
- The uniform operator liability cap of Rs 1,500 crore under the Act of 2010 is replaced by a graded liability ranging from Rs 100 crore to Rs 3,000 crore.
- The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, constituted in 1962 in the same year as the erstwhile parent Act, has now been given statutory status.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q4. Under the SHANTI Act, 2025, consider the following as activities for which the Central Government may grant a licence to a private Indian company:
1. Building, owning or operating a nuclear plant or reactor.
2. Fabrication, transport, trade or storage of nuclear fuel.
3. Mining of atomic minerals.
4. Setting up a nuclear plant through a company incorporated outside India.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- Building, owning or operating a nuclear plant or reactor.
- Fabrication, transport, trade or storage of nuclear fuel.
- Mining of atomic minerals.
- Setting up a nuclear plant through a company incorporated outside India.
- A. 1 and 4
- B. 1 and 2
- C. 2, 3 and 4
- D. 3 only
Q5. Among the components funded under the Nuclear Energy Mission, which one of the following carries the largest budgeted outlay?
- A. The Bharat Small Modular Reactor project of 220 MWe capacity
- B. The SMR-55 project comprising two units of 55 MWe each
- C. The High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor of up to 5 MWth for hydrogen generation
- D. The design and engineering package for future reactor systems
Q6. In-principle approval for the Bharat Small Modular Reactor project, ahead of its financial sanction, has been accorded by which one of the following?
- A. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, which authorises activities involving exposure to radiation
- B. The Board of Directors of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited
- C. The Atomic Energy Commission
- D. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, on the recommendation of NITI Aayog
Q7. Which one of the following has been identified as the site for the lead units of both the BSMR-200 and the SMR-55?
- A. Tarapur Atomic Power Station, Maharashtra
- B. Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu
- C. Kakrapar Atomic Power Station, Gujarat
- D. Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Q8. The Bharat Small Modular Reactor is being jointly designed and developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre together with which one of the following?
- A. Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited, the undertaking mandated to implement fast breeder technology
- B. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, the undertaking that builds and operates power reactors
- C. Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, the centre that developed fast reactor technology
- D. Nuclear Fuel Complex, the unit that fabricates fuel assemblies and reactor core components
Q9. In the context of India's thorium resource base, which one of the following best describes monazite?
- A. A uranium ore mined from underground deposits, processed into yellowcake before fuel fabrication
- B. A heavy-water-moderated slag recovered as a by-product of processing atomic minerals for reactor use
- C. A placer mineral of coastal beach and inland alluvial sands, containing thorium, uranium and rare earth elements
- D. A zirconium-bearing mineral of beach sands, used chiefly for making cladding tubes for reactor fuel
Q10. Consider the following as features of the legal regime that existed immediately before the enactment of the SHANTI Act, 2025:
1. Operator liability for a nuclear incident was fixed at a uniform ceiling of Rs 1,500 crore.
2. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board functioned under powers conferred by the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 without independent statutory status.
3. Licences to build, own and operate nuclear power plants could be granted to private Indian companies.
4. Operators enjoyed a right of recourse against suppliers where the incident resulted from defective equipment or material.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- Operator liability for a nuclear incident was fixed at a uniform ceiling of Rs 1,500 crore.
- The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board functioned under powers conferred by the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 without independent statutory status.
- Licences to build, own and operate nuclear power plants could be granted to private Indian companies.
- Operators enjoyed a right of recourse against suppliers where the incident resulted from defective equipment or material.
- A. 1, 2 and 3
- B. 1 and 3 only
- C. 2 and 4 only
- D. 1, 2 and 4
Q11. In India's nuclear institutional framework, BHAVINI is best described as which one of the following?
- A. The board that frames nuclear safety standards and conducts multi-tier safety reviews and regulatory inspections
- B. A public sector undertaking under the Department of Atomic Energy mandated to implement fast breeder technology
- C. The corporation responsible for design, construction, commissioning and operation of India's power reactor fleet
- D. The unit that undertakes mining and processing of beach sand minerals and rare earths for the atomic programme
Q12. Under the liability regime accompanying the opening of the nuclear sector to private participation, the liability of an operator for a nuclear incident is graded within which one of the following ranges?
- A. Rs 300 crore to Rs 1,500 crore, depending on the type of installation
- B. Rs 500 crore to Rs 5,000 crore, depending on the type of installation
- C. Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 3,000 crore, depending on the type of installation
- D. Rs 100 crore to Rs 3,000 crore, depending on the type of installation