The Fascinating story of a Nuclear Superpower-INDIA

India ventured on the path of nuclear weapons development after its face-off with China in the 1962 war, followed by China carrying out nuclear tests in 1964 and the subsequent years.

In 1974, under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, India executed its first nuclear test, Pokhran-I, dubbed a “peaceful nuclear explosion”. 

Despite more than two decades of international arm-twisting that followed to make India relinquish its quest for nuclear weapons, India again carried out a test in May 1998, Pokhran-II, involving a fission device, a low-yield device, and a thermonuclear device. Its triumphant execution meant that - India could raise nuclear warheads in its fast-developing missile program. 

A fortnight after the Pokhran-II tests, Pakistan also carried out similar tests, documenting progress with its nuclear weapons program; since then, its nuclear arsenal has expanded rapidly.

In 1999, India came out with an explicit nuclear doctrine that perpetrated, among other things, to No first use(NFU) — that is - it would never carry out a nuclear first strike. This doctrine stressed “minimal deterrence, no first use and non-use against non-nuclear-weapon states”- in the words of former National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon. 

The NFU pledge thus went together with credible minimum deterrence (CMD).

• Nuclear Energy in India:

India’s nuclear power plants mostly set up during the sanction years, deliver only 3% of the energy mix. After the historic Indo-US nuclear deal in 2008, the first two plants at Kundankulam – were established with Russian assistance.

• Nuclear fuel of the future: Thorium

According to the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), a constituent Unit of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), India has 11.93 million tonnes of Monazite (ore) that contains about 1.07 million tonnes of thorium.

The country’s thorium reserves make up 25 percent of the global-reserves. It can efficiently be used as a fuel to cut down on import of Uranium from other countries.

The U-233 produced from it releases 8 times the amount of energy per unit mass compared to natural U.

In waste generation also, it has a relative edge over Uranium. Thorium dioxide is much more stable the Uranium dioxide

Because of higher thermal conductivity in case of explosion, heat energy will quickly wash out and prevent a meltdown.

The melting point is 500 degrees higher, so in case of an accident, heat energy will flow out quickly and control a meltdown.

• Thorium Cycle – Working:

Thorium-232 is a fertile material. 

Reasons it has not been developed-

1. First, one needs to produce U-233 from Thorium, and for the same, reactors based on the naturally available nuclear fuel material- Uranium-235, are required.

2. Retrieval of U-233 by large-scale reprocessing of irradiated thorium poses certain practical limitations.

3. Thorium cannot be weaponized, and world powers built nuclear energy plants after they built the weapon.

• Spent Fuel Reprocessing Process:

The nuclear fuel mix has a high amount of fissile material. Once it is used, the amount of non-fissile material and by-products would grow, and that material cannot be used again as fuel in its present form. This is called spent fuel.

It may or may not be reusable. If spent fuel reprocessing is not possible yet, the fuel cycle is referred to as an open fuel cycle (or a once-through fuel cycle); if the spent fuel is reprocessed, it is referred to as a closed fuel cycle.

India’s nuclear program is oriented towards maximizing the energy potential of available uranium resources and the utilization of the large thorium reserve.

Available global uranium resources cannot sustain the projected development of nuclear power without embracing the closed fuel cycle strategy.