Important facts about India's nuclear program

New Delhi: India's nuclear program was initiated by Dr. Homi Bhabha in 1950s. He wanted to utilize the country's uranium and thorium reserves for its development. The reserves are found in the monazite sands of coastal regions of South India. The ultimate goal was to utilize India's limited uranium reserves for energy requirement. Dr. Homi Bhabha conceived of the three-stage nuclear programme as a way to develop nuclear energy. Here are some important facts to know about India's nuclear programme: 1. Nuclear tests Pokhran Nuclear test siteIndia conducted first successful nuclear test was called Operation Smiling Buddha with a yield (8 kiloton) equivalent to half of the energy generated by Little Boy (atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima).The second nuclear test was known as Operation Shakti (5 tests) in 1998.Operation Shakti (Pokhran-II) was India's first fusion bomb with an estimated yield of 58 kilotons.One of the testing shafts of the 1998 nuclear tests by India was code named “White House.” 2. Nuclear reactorsTarapur Atomic Power StationIndia's First Nuclear Reactor was Apsara. It was also the first nuclear reactor in Asia. Apsara went critical at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Trombay on August 4, 1956.Tarapur Atomic Power Station (Maharashtra) was the first nuclear power plant in India. The construction of the plant was started in 1962 and the plant went operational in 1969.Kudankulam Nuclear Power PlantAll of the India's Nuclear reactors currently use Uranium as its fuel, but India has only around 1.2% of the global uranium reserves.Nuclear energy constitutes only 2.9% of India's total energy output produced by 20 nuclear reactors.India's primary weapons grade nuclear fuel is produced by BARC's Dhruva Reactor in Trombay.Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is the largest nuclear power generation complex in India producing a cumulative 2 GW of electric power. 3. Thorium research The PFBR (Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor) nuclear reactor coming up in Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu) is going to be India's first reactor capable of using thorium as fuel. It is expected to be operational by September of 2014.India leads the world in experiments with using thorium as a substitute nuclear fuel in nuclear reactors.India has largest shares of global thorium reserves at about 30% of the total world thorium reserves in the sands of coastal regions of South India. 4. Nuclear Policies Of the countries with nuclear weapons, only China, India, and North Korea have a declared “no first use” policy.India is among four other countries (Israel, Pakistan, South Sudan being others) to not sign Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons on grounds that the concept of the treaty is flawed because it restricts the legal possession of nuclear weapons to those states that tested them before 1967, but the treaty never explains on what ethical grounds such a distinction is valid. 5. Military Nuclear MightINS ArihantIndia is estimated to have a total of 80 to 100 nuclear weapons in its arsenal. As of 1999, India was estimated to have 4200 kg of separated reactor-grade plutonium from its power reactors, which is equivalent to roughly 1000 nuclear weapons.INS Arihant launched in 26 July 2009 is India's first indigenously built nuclear submarine.Brahmos II missileIndia's BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is considered the world's fastest cruise missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead up to 500 km away in just 8 minutes. BrahMos II under development is expected to do the same in just under 4 minutes. 6. Nuclear accidents India has officially reported six nuclear accidents with no reported causalities any of the incidents.An asteroid almost caused a nuclear war between India and Pakistan in 2002. Fortunately it exploded over Mediterranean Sea. If it would have occurred at the same latitude a few hours earlier, the explosion might have resembled a nuclear detonation equivalent to the blast that destroyed Hiroshima.In June 2012, 38 workers were exposed to radiation when a welding operation went wrong inside the protected environment of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station Reactor in Kota. 7. International views According to some American Scientists, “India has the most technically ambitious and innovative nuclear energy program in the world. The extent and functionality of its nuclear experimental facilities are matched only by those in Russia and are far ahead of what is left in the US.” 8. FutureIndia is one of the seven participating countries assigned to develop a working model of the world's first fusion reactor in France. Fusion reactors are expected to be clean and limitless sources of energy in the future.