I NDIA ’ S ATOMIC ENERGY PROGRAMME The atomic energy programme in India was launched around the time of independence under the leadership of Homi J. Bhabha ( - ). An early historic achievement was the design and construction of the first nuclear reactor in India (named Apsara) which went critical on August , . It used enriched uranium as fuel and water as moderator.
Following this was another notable landmark: the construction of CIRUS (Canada India Research U.S.) reactor in . This MW reactor used natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as moderator. Apsara and CIRUS spurred research in a wide range of areas of basic and applied nuclear science. An important milestone in the first two decades of the programme was the indigenous design and construction of the plutonium plant at Trombay, which ushered in the technology of fuel reprocessing (separating useful fissile and fertile nuclear materials from the spent fuel of a reactor) in India.
Research reactors that have been subsequently commissioned include ZERLINA, PURNIMA (I, II and III), DHRUVA and KAMINI. KAMINI is the country’s first large research reactor that uses U- as fuel. As the name suggests, the primary objective of a research reactor is not generation of power but to provide a facility for research on different aspects of nuclear science and technology. Research reactors are also an excellent source for production of a variety of radioactive isotopes that find application in diverse fields: industry, medicine and agriculture.
The main objectives of the Indian Atomic Energy programme are to provide safe and reliable electric power for the country’s social and economic progress and to be self- reliant in all aspects of nuclear technology. Exploration of atomic minerals in India undertaken since the early fifties has indicated that India has limited reserves of uranium, but fairly abundant reserves of thorium. Accordingly, our country has adopted a three- stage strategy of nuclear power generation. The first stage involves the use of natural uranium as a fuel, with heavy water as moderator.
The Plutonium- obtained from reprocessing of the discharged fuel from the reactors then serves as