Whatever happened to homegrown nuclear technology?

confuzzled dude wrote:I thought India was leader in thorium based nuclear research but then lately we're on a binge shopping trying to import nuclear reactors/technology from the US, Canada, France, Japan, Russia and other countries. Wouldn't it be better in the long run to invest heavily towards the development of the technology we're familiar with/made great strides than looking for short term gains by importing foreign stuff?

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

confuzzled dude wrote:I thought India was leader in thorium based nuclear research but then lately we're on a binge shopping trying to import nuclear reactors/technology from the US, Canada, France, Japan, Russia and other countries. Wouldn't it be better in the long run to invest heavily towards the development of the technology we're familiar with/made great strides than looking for short term gains by importing foreign stuff?

You should ask UPA-MMS-Sonia who silently killed the Thorium program over their 10 yr rule.

By now, it has become apparent that the Bharatiya Janata Party, while in Opposition, slammed the door on India’s nuclear renaissance. In concert with the Communist Party of India, they pushed for a liability law that was at odds with international norms and has chased international nuclear vendors out of the Indian market. The only firm that still maintains a presence in India is the Russian Rosatom, which has renegotiated its contract and sharply increased the cost of its reactors – the cost of the first two reactors at Kudankulam was approximately Rs 17,300 crores while the third and fourth are expected to cost about Rs 39,400 crore. Meanwhile, the government has shown little interest in the Indian nuclear establishment ramping up nuclear power either. The sector has not undergone the necessary reforms to make it a competitive industry nor have there been announcements of a series of new projects. During the first 18 months in office, all that Modi Sarkar has achieved in the nuclear arena is the purchase of uranium ore from overseas – something that the previous government would have been able to do anyway since the Indo-US nuclear deal in 2008.

It is unrealistic to expect the BJP to be pro patria before pro politica and walk back its errors on civil nuclear liability. Thankfully, there is another option that allows India to circumvent the nuclear liability logjam altogether – thorium. Considered the next generation of the nuclear era, thorium-fuelled reactors are proliferation resistant, safer, cheaper, and more efficient than most reactors in service presently. Thorium is plentiful in India, and more crucially, all thorium technology, from mining to reprocessing, has been indigenously developed. In every aspect, India can be completely self-sufficient with the deployment of thorium reactors.

The key obstacle to mass deployment of thorium is the lack of fissile material. Under the auspices of the Conference on Climate Change, Modi could have lobbied the international community to allow India to acquire plutonium and spent nuclear fuel, under safeguards, of course, from the global market for use in its fast breeder and thorium reactors. Modi ought to have also used the opportunity to pitch for developed states to provide soft loans for the expansion of nuclear and thorium power. Unfortunately, the moment was squandered chasing after solar unicorns.