Daily News Analysis

INDIA NEEDS TO GO NUCLEAR

stylish_lining

INDIA NEEDS TO GO NUCLEAR

India’s growing energy needs:

  1. India has been registering rapid economic growth and is expected to surpass Germany and Japan to become the third largest economy by the end of this decade.
  2. The economic growth triggers demand for energy, which is reflected in India’s primary energy consumption being the third-highest globally, and most of which is based on fossil energy.
  3. India’s developmental aspirations require a manifold increase in per-capita energy use even while transitioning to net-zero GHG emission. 
  4. Fossil fuels turn out to be a major contributor to global warming, becoming an existential crisis for humanity. 
  5. Transition to net zero is now a global consensus-based goal to be achieved before a 2045–2070 time frame and requires
    1. Massive transformation of energy systems, involving new technologies,
    2. Restructuring of energy systems at supply-and-demand ends
    3. Large costs. 

Addressing the dual challenge: development vs net-zero targets

  1. If India wants to reach a Human Development Index (HDI) comparable to advanced countries of the world, it shall require more than four times our present energy consumption (for instance, a minimum of 2,400-kilogram oil equivalent (kgoe) energy consumption per capita per year will be required).
  2. Deployment of renewable energy such as solar, hydro, etc., cannot enable India to become an advanced country. Thus, only way out is a rapid scale-up of nuclear energy.

 

Nuclear energy to combat climate change:

  1. Nuclear energy has emerged as one of the cleanest and safest of energies capable of effectively countering climate change.
  2. With a closed nuclear fuel cycle, waste issue has also been reduced to a negligible level. 
  3. Nuclear energy should be scaled up to a couple of thousand GWe for an optimum solution to reach net-zero in a developed India.
  4. Six-pronged national strategy for a rapid scale up of nuclear energy:
    1. Indigenous 700 MWe PHWR (Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor), the first unit of which is already in commercial operation, should be the prime workhorse for base load electrical capacity addition. Additional units have to be constructed for implementation.
    2. Small Module Reactors (SMR) have to build indigenously at a large no. of sites that would be vacated by retiring coal plants in the coming decades.
    3. Well-proven 220 MWe PHWR units can be offered as partially owned captive units for electricity and hydrogen for energy-intensive industries such as metals, chemicals, and fertilisers.
    4. A high temperature reactor for direct hydrogen production without resorting to electrolysis has to be developed which would enable cheaper green hydrogen production and reduce pressure on excessive electrification of the energy system in the country.
    5. Second and third stage nuclear-power programme development has to be fastened to unleash thorium energy potential in accordance with the pre-existing plans for long-term sustainable energy supply.
    6. Rapid deployment of new nuclear-energy capacity has to be done to credibly address the climate-change challenge at the global level.

The Great Nicobar Project

The Great Nicobar Project is a massive infrastructure overhaul that has emerged as a focal point for India’s strategic and developmental ambitions. Piloted by NITI Aayog, the project is valu
Share It

Global and National Developments on Gender Recognition

Global Context: United States: The Trump administration recognized only two genders—male and female—excluding transgender individuals. This approach raised questions about the
Share It

Voting Rights for Internal Migrants in India

Universal Adult Suffrage (Article 326 of the Indian Constitution) ensures that every citizen aged 18 and above has the right to vote in Lok Sabha (Parliament) and State Legislative Assembly
Share It

Urban Governance

As India’s urban population continues to grow rapidly, achieving gender equity in urban governance is essential for building inclusive, sustainable, and resilient cities. The exclusion of wo
Share It

Maternity rights

The recent Supreme Court judgment in the case of K. Uma Devi vs State of Tamil Nadu marks a landmark shift in recognizing maternity rights as a Fundamental Right under Article 21 of the Indian Con
Share It

India's Criminal Justice System

The recent acquittal of the 12 men convicted in the Mumbai Train Blast Case (2006) by the Bombay High Court has reignited debate over the effectiveness and integrity of India's criminal justic
Share It

India's Aviation Safety

The preliminary report of the Air India Boeing 787 crash in Ahmedabad by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) remains inconclusive, raising troubling questions about the pilot's i
Share It

Antimicrobial Resistance

India’s steps to regulate the use of antibiotics in food animal production reflect a growing global consensus on the need to address Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). The potential consequence
Share It

solar energy potential

India’s push toward leveraging its vast solar energy potential represents a critical strategy for accelerating the transition to net-zero emissions by 2070, as part of its long-term climate
Share It

submarine cables

The issue of securing submarine cables is increasingly being recognized as a sovereign imperative in today's data-driven world. Subsea cables are crucial infrastructure for global communicatio
Share It

Newsletter Subscription


ACQ IAS
ACQ IAS