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INDIAS POLICY
Myths and Realities
Indias nuclear energy programme got a new colour since the establishment of the
Department of Atomic Energy in 1958. Reconstitution of the Atomic Energy
Communication in 1958 and enactment of the Atomic Energy Act 1962 gave absolute
power to initiate, formulate, plan and execute nuclear energy programme in total secrecy
to one man the chairman of the commission who is responsible directly to the prime
Minister alone. Ever since India became successful in exploding a nuclear device on the
Rajasthan desert.
On May 18, 1974, critics and analyses have been speculating about the future
course of Indias nuclear programe. But recently Indias nuclear policy became a subject
of serious discussion by a number of scholars both inside and outside of the country2. It is
relevant to examine, in the context of the tremendous opposition to nuclear power and
nuclear weapons in several countries, whether India should continue its nuclear options
open or not. The process against nuclear has been so over viewing after the April 1986
Chernobyl disaster. This paper focus on analyze the contradictions in Indias nuclear
policy against the background of the arguments raised by various schools.
Indias objective in trying to develop atomic energy has been to produce electric power as
economically and as efficiently as possible. Even as early as 1948, the Government of
India had appreciated the importance of developing atomic energy. So that the countrys
economic progress May not be thwarted. Smt. Vijayalakshmi pandit had started in the
U.N. General Assembly on 4 th November 1948: It is our belief that India being an under
developed and under power country, atomic energy would play an important role in
developing its economy. This is especially so, since, we lack some of the vital source of
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India views its nuclear programme as entirely peaceful and unique in this world
and therefore justifies the 1974 explosion. But it is doubtful whether this nuclear energy
can be used for peaceful purposes. Because it is inherently destructive in nature. For
instance, the radioactive waste that the nuclear plants leave become a major threat to
mankind for thousand of years. There is not technical difference between a so called
peaceful nuclear device or that horrible abhorrent tool of destructions the nuclear bomb.
Every scientist and Engineer knows that the so called peaceful nuclear device
incorporates the same basic technology as a devastating nuclear bomb. Therefore, Indias
nuclear explosions of 1974 are being viewed by countries like Pakistan as weapon
oriented.
Nuclear bomb walls in this country have been raising the bogey of Pakistani
bomb for a decade. But in the sixties they were urging the Nehru government to go
3. R.Rama Rao, Indias Nuclear progress bar once sheet India Quarterly
(New Delhi) not xxxi (Oct-Dec 1947)
4. Abdul Quadeerkhan, Indian Nuclear Policy and Pakistan plan, (Strategic
Digest ( New Delhi), Vol. XV, No. 12, (dec. 1985) pp 1569 1573.
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nuclear because they believed that India was threatened by Chinese which were nuclear
in 1964. But all these years, never once our security has been threatened by chinese5. A
Major obstacle in the path of an Indo- Pakistan agreement on the nuclear weapons issue
is the contrasting attitude of the two countries towards Indias nuclear strategy while
Pakistan feel threatened by Indias nuclear programme and desires to have it controlled
by proper verification Indian views its nuclear programme as entirely peaceful and
unique in this world6. India had refused to accede to the Non prolific ration treaty on the
ground that it was exploiting the full range of nuclear applications such as peaceful
nuclear as peaceful nuclear explosives or Peaceful nuclear explosions.
Nuclear is simply too demanding technology for fallible man-too demanding in
case, in wisdom and in vigilance. The poisonous wastes it will leave behind have a life
time for larger than any human culture has survived. The dangers are of a nature and a
magnitude which exceed any other human activity. Faced with these daunting problems,
can nuclear power justify in future as a major power justify in future as a major source of
energy for man kind. On the evidence available, the answer must no10.
Based on the recent reliable figures, our total installed power generation capacity
in MW (MG, March, 1979} is 26,689 out of which contributions of hydro-power is
10,831 {40.6%} and chermal 15,218 (57%) and nuclear 640 (2.4%).
5. Phirendra sharma, Discussion, Indias Nuclear Policy Mainstream, New(Delhi) Vol, XXV, No. 3, (April 11, 1987) P-34.
6. Sunil sondhi n-1, P-32.
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In due course it become apparent that Indias nuclear test had used plutonium and
that this material had been produced in a test reactor from natural uranium. Plutonium
not only can be made in to bombs, It can also be used directly as a radiological contain
that on weapon of mass destruction. As an oxide or nitrate, plutonium could be scattered
manually. A moving vehicle or a tell building could help make effective plutonium could
be scattered manually. A moving vehicle or a tall building could help make effective
plutonium disposal easy.8
Through its peaceful nuclear programme, India has created all the technology
and facilities necessary to produce up to 15 to 30 nuclear weapons, a year. Since 1983,
India has obtained unrestricted plutonium from its madras reactor. It is alloyed to have
started processing this plutonium in to weapon grade material in 1985. India is also
reported to have stepped up to imports of nuclear weapons design and testing of air
droppable weapns.9.
Nuclear power is not yet- dead no even necessary ply dying: but the optimistic
hopes that attended its birth have perished one by one. At Chernobyl the last of these the
hope that nuclear power could be safe and clear died along with the courage soviet
frame in withstanding blast of indications.
7. Sudraddin Agakhan (Edr.) Nuclear war, Nuclear proliteration and other
consequences (Oxford clavendor press, 1986) P-198.
8. Dhirendra Sharma, Indias Nuclear Easte (New Delhi; Lanurs publishers,1983) PP 77 79)
9. Sunil Sondhi, n-1, P-32.
10. Nigel Hawkas and Greffrey cean, The worst Accident in the world (London,Pan Books, Ltd, 1986 pp- 230-231.
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Price, in an exhaustive cost analysis is of nuclear power, has provided an in depth
study of problem involved in working out real and hidden cost of all types of nuclear
reactor systems including their cost to construct, install and run for 25 years average life
span. The study of Lilienthal, the First chairman of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission,
also explain all these cost energy indices which have been conveniently ignored by the
pro-nuclear pundits of India and abroad. According to him, the most abundant
Transuranic waste material it plutonium 239 with a half life of 24, 390 years. It a
nuclear power station produces 1000 MW for 25 years but leaves waste materials which
require a power input for maintenance of 100 KW for 25,000 years, then the net energy
output will be able to keep their average power consumption below 100 KW per reactor a
well as develop an infallible system capable of surving for geological period.
Indian has been an estimated hydro power-potential of 1,00,000 MW of which
only about 10,830 MW is being utilized at the end of 1979.
11. Dhirendra sharma n.8, PP. 168 170
That is, only around 10% of the hydel project is being presently exploited. Due to
political considerations, economically viable and technically convenient hydro electric
schemes are not taken up seriously. Ninety percentage of the hydro potential is simply
allowed to run away to these seas.
In spite of this infinitely renewable source of energy freely available to our
people, over the last 30 years. Little Research and Development funds have been made
available for the hydro-power developments. In contrast atomic energy has received
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untold secret funding without regards to the principles of self reliance, independence and
environmental protection of our natural resoures.12.
12. lbid., pp, 170-171
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The advocates of nuclear power commonly discount hidden costs involved in mining,
fuel fabrication, processing and reprocessing elaborate safety system, and is not frequent
shutdowns for legitimate reasons such as refueling and periodic checks. The most serious
of all may be the environmental cost of wastes disposal which remain radioactive for as
long half a million years and the problem of burial management of the dead nuclear
reactors (normal life of a nuclear power station costing millions of rupees is 25 years) has
yet to be properly understood13.
In a chance accident or sabotage or earthquake, if the containment structure of a
nuclear plant is damaged probability of radioactive getting in to environmental can not be
ruled out and the long-term effects on ecology in such cases are unpredictable. For
instance, on 26th April 1986, when the soviet nuclear power reactor at chernoby 1 blew up
a nuclear nightmare suddenly came true. As radiation surged out of the stricken plan, the
first panicky silence was followed by dramatic efforts to prevent a catastrophic
13. lbid., p. 171
melt down. Thousands more will die of cancers over the next decades and many of their
children and childrens children may suffer from genetic diseases. Tens of thousands
may not safely be able to return to their contaminated home for years to come. The
nuclear disaster at three miles island in U.S (1979) was also another example.14.
A powerful national mass movement of well organized and well informed nuclear
opponents has now emerged in the U.S. to challenge the atomic industrial complex a
political, economic, legal and environmental grounds. From a small core of opponents in
the late 1960s. This opposition has swelled to a broadly based citizen movement today,
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with strongholds of support in the middle class in the academic community and to an
ever-growing extent among working class people. The movement has been energized by
a growing public consciousness of the direct relation between nuclear radiation,
environmental pollution and many public health hazards. The National council of
churches in 1976 also joined the nuclear opposition taking a stand against the use of
plutonium in reactor fuel15.
14. Dhinendra Sharma Plea against commission narora Nuclear Plan mainstream
( New Delhi) Vol. XXVII, No. 16 (Jan 14, 1989), P.7
Mass demonstrations were held against a number of nuclear plants during the past
5 years in Western Europe. Notable among the demonstrations have been those at
fissenhain in Alaska, France and at schweinfont, West Germany. On April 19, 1975 ten
thousand people marched in protest against the construction of a nuclear power plant at
nearby Grfenrheinfeld many of the participant were farmers who brought their tractors
with them opponents of the plant charged it would destroy the agriculture in the region by
heating the river main with its thermal discharges. Similarly in Switzerland also on April
6, 1975, a major demonstrated were held to protest against the construction of a nuclear
plant in Kaiseraugust 16.
Alarms of a more serious nature have been sounded by a study by a group of
nuclear scientists commissioned after the 1986 April Chernobyl accident by the Green
peace international the well known pacifist and anti-nukes.
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14. John J. Bonger, Nucler Power the unviable option (Califormia ; Ramportha
press, 1976) pp 339-340.
15. ibid,p-343.
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Organization of this group of scientists headed by Helmet Hirsch, a famous, Austrian
physist has concluded after examining the secret documents available at the international
Atomic Energy Agency (TAGE) that many accidents of serious nature had taken place at
the various VVER type 440 MW nuclear plants situated both in the soviet union and in
the Eastern European countries it is relevant to point out here that there has been
tremendous opposition to nuclear power and nuclear weapons in several socialist bloc
countries as well, including the soviet union 17. Now days Japan Government is almost
shut downed their nuclear power plants in their land due to the public protest. It is in this
context that one should examine the recent controversial deal with the Soviet Union
regarding the establishment of two nuclear plants in India.
The official announcement of importing two 1000 MW VVER-type nuclear plants
from the Soviet Union and sitting them at Koodankulam in Tirunelvel district in Tamil
Nadu. Has raised important issues. The siting of the two 1000MW nuclear plants at
Koondakulam will undoubtedly result in the immediate eviction of over 25,000 people
from Koodamkulam village and its nearest area. The sitting up of the nuclear plants will
also curtail fishing activities from urari in chidambaram district to Muttom in
Kanyakumari district, a belt of nearly 75 KM. This will pose a threat to the livelihood of
nearly 300,000 fishers folk; once the seashore gets contaminated due to possible radiation
leak from the nuclear plants, there will be no way by which the fisher folk can sustain
their materials life more over, farming activities in the region of around 10 KM from
nuclear plants will face severe curtailment.
It is pertinent here to note that the environmental impact Assessment study
presented to the public by the authorities upcoming 1, 100 MW nuclear planet size well
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in the east coast, of Britain sketches the following possible scenario. The report says it an
anticipated accident occurred in the plant even under very normal weather conditions, the
harmful radioactive relases will cause damage to public health and property downwind up
to 170 K.M. a Environmentalist Shivaji Rao of the Andhra University waltair has
superimposed the above scenario over Koodamkulam according to him people in the
towns of Tamil Nadu and Kerala fall within the 140 KM belt will have to be forcibly
evacuated with in 48 hours. Those with in 77 KM from the reactor will be forcibly
evacuated with in 24 hours are able to come back to their houses only after 20 years.
The Indian government has already signed an agreement with the IAEA on
September 26, 1988 waiving safeguards for the two VVER type 1,000 NW nuclear
plants.
17. Time bomb an Koodankulam Economic and political weekly (Bombay) Vol XXV
No. 1 (Jan. 7, 1989) PP. 20-21.
It is to be pointed out here that the Indian government has never agreed to the
bringing of its entire nuclear programme under IAEA Safeguards The agreement, in
effect, will Means that the IAEA will not undertake safeguards inspection for these
nuclear plants on the condition that India will return the so called spent fuel from these
plants to the soviet union.
The agreement envisages the transport of dangerous radioactive wastes to the
Soviet Union. This is going to be an extremely dangerous proposition. The Wastes will
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All this raises further important questions. Since the Soviet Union itself is being
forced to quickly close down three of its up-coming plants in the face of mounting
opposition to nuclear power it that country, why should India buy the plants? And why
should plutonium be produced at Koodamkulam in India and taken to the soviet union
across a distance of 14,000 KN? What is the Soviet Union going to do with the
plutonium? Store it? Or produce nuclear weapons? What are the dangers in either case?
These are the possible questions that should not be clearly answered by the govt. of
India.19
19 lbid; P. 21
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The most remarkable breakthrough that Man Mohan Sighs Government was able to
make was the Nuclear Deal with the United States. The process started with Dr. Singhs
assumption of office and met its culmination in October 2006 when the final nuclear deal
was signed between the two countries earlier on 18 July 2005, India and the united states
signed the landmark civilian nuclear agreement in Washington DC next on 2 march 2006,
a separation plan was initiated by India and the united states which listed out which
reactors would new Delhi put under safeguards. On 18 December 2006, the Hyde Act
was passed by the US Congress which led to the amendment of the US Atomic Energy
Act. The next breakthrough came in 27 July 2007 when the 123 agreement was signed
by India and the United States outlining the terms of nuclear trade between the two
countries. On 1 August 2008, International Atomic energy Agency (IAEA) cleared India
specific safeguards Agreement that defined the level of supervision of civilian plants.
The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) waiver came ultimately after intense negotiation
among its 45 members to allow nuclear trade with India on 6 September 2008 ultimately
India and the United states struck the Nuclear deal on 8 October 2008. As the nuke deal
is in place now, India can formally begin trade in civilian nuclear technology while
continuing its nuclear weapons programme but expecting severe consequences if it
conducts a test in future (8). The real factor behind the US decision to sign the Nuclear
deal was to balance off china in Asia that would help to maintain its primary in the region
without isolating china India, therefore was key to the us game plan. Besides the
strategic factor, Washingtons decision to upgrade its relation with India was also a result
of the growing worldwide acknowledgement of the image of India as a rising power,
particularly in economic terms.
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The implications of the US-India Nuclear Deal
The US-India nuclear deal was essential to India because Indias additional
approach towards nuclear cooperation bad reached a dead-end. Traditional India sought
international nuclear cooperation, even while maintaining nuclear weapons program, by
agreeing to partial safeguards on nuclear imparts. This strategy allowed India to
supplement its domestic nuclear power capability with international cooperation, as long
as there were willing international partners. However, when the rules of international
nuclear commerce changed from partial safeguards to full-scope safeguards India was
faced with the choice of either giving up its nuclear weapons program or giving up on
international nuclear commerce. Not surprisingly, India chose the latter what the US-
India nuclear deal does is give India the option yet again to both keep its nuclear weapons
programme while also preserving its access to international nuclear commerce. The
support nuclear weapons convention with the objective of eventual comprehensive
nuclear disarmament. Even after openly declaring itself as a nuclear disarmament
obviously, nuclear, disarmament is unlikely in the immediate future. In the meantime.
India faces same key nuclear arms control challenges in the next till recently; India
viewed its nuclear programme as entirely peaceful and unique in this world and therefore
justified the 1974 explosion. But the pokhran tests have exposed this myth. Many had
also doubted that the nuclear energy could be used for peaceful purposes only but it is
inherently destructive in nature. For instance, the radioactive waste that the nuclear
plants leave become a major threat to mankind for thousand, of years. There is no
technical difference between a so-called peaceful nuclear device or that horrible,
abhorrent tool of destruction, the nuclear bomb. Every scientist and engineer knows that
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the so-called peaceful nuclear device incorporates the same basic technology as a
devastating nuclear bomb. There fore, Indias nuclear explosion of 1998 we now viewed
as weapon oriented more importantly after Pokhran-tests, the Vajpayee government
categorically stated that the tests were meant to collect necessary data for developing
advanced techniques for weaponisation.
Nuclear bomb wallas in this country have began raising the bogey of Pakistan
bomb for the two decade. But in the sixties they were urging the Nehru government to
you nuclear because they believed that India was threatened by china which went nuclear
in 1964. But all these years never once has our security been threatened by the Chinese.
A major obstacle in the path of on indo-Pakistan agreement on the nuclear weapons issue
is the contrasting attitude of the two countries towards Indias nuclear strategy. While
Pakistan felt threatened Indias nuclear programme and desires to have it controlled by
proper verification by India bad refused to accede to the Nonproliferation. Treaty on the
grounds that is was exploiting the full range of nuclear applications such as peaceful
nuclear explosives or peaceful nuclear explosions.
In due course it became apparent that Indias nuclear test had used plutonium and
that this material had been produced in attest reactor Nuclear from natural Uranium
plutonium not only can be made in to bombs, in can also be used directly as on
anthological contamination weapon of mass destruction. As on oxide nitrate plutonium
could be scattered manually.
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Even while India had clandestine weaponisation programme, it continued with the
argument that the nuclear power is the only solution to the impending power crisis in the
country and that all efforts have been directed to achieve this. Keeping this is mind, one
should examine the official announcement of importing two 1000 MW VVER light water
reactors from Russia and setting them at Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu which could have
severe impact on environment.
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Indias nuclear programme has come in for a serious debate after the Pokhran II
tests. The nuclear tests have not only raised some vital questions concerning national
security but brought to the forefront the basic contradictions in Indias public promises
and practices. In the context of the Pokhran II tests and the tremendous opposition to
nuclear power and nuclear weapons in several countries, it is relevant to examine whether
India should continue its dual purpose nuclear programme or not countries.In spite of
the overall adequacy of its uranium reserves, Indian power plants could not get the
necessary amount of uranium to function at full capacity in the late 2000s, primarily due
to inadequate investments made in the uranium mining and milling capacity resulting
from fiscal austerity in the early 1990s. One study done for U.S. Congress in that time
period reaches the conclusion, Indias current fuel situation means that New Delhi
cannot produce sufficient fuel for both its nuclear weapons program and its projected
civil nuclear program. An independent study arrives at roughly the same conclusion,
Indias current uranium production of less than 300 tons/year can meet at most, two-
thirds of its needs for civil and military nuclear fuel. This uranium shortfall during the
deal negotiations was understood by both players to be a temporary aberration that was
poised to be resolved with requisite investments in Indias uranium
millinginfrastructure.It was estimated that after attaining 21 GW from nuclear power by
2020, further growth might require imported uranium. This is problematic because
deployment of third stage requires that 50 GW be already established through the first
and second stages. If imported uranium was made available, Department of Atomic
Energy (DAE) estimated that India could reach 70 GW by 2032 and 275 GW by 2052. In
such a scenario, the third stage could be made operational following the fast breeder
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implementation, and nuclear power capacity could grow to 530 GW.] The estimated
stagnation of the nuclear power at about 21GW by 2020 is likely due to the fact that even
the short doubling time of the breeder reactors is quite slow, on the order of 1015
years. Implementing the three-stage programme using the domestic uranium resources
alone is feasible, but requires several decades to come to fruition. Imports of fissile
material from outside would considerably speed up the programme.
As per research data, the U238Pu cycle has the shortest doubling time by a large
margin, and that technologys compounded yearly fissile material growth rate has been
calculated as follows, after making some basic assumptions about the operating features
of the fast breeder reactors.
Indian power generation capacity has grown at 5.9% per annum in the 25 year period
prior to 2006. If Indian economy is to grow at 89% for the next 25 year period of 2006
to 2032, total power generation capacity has to increase at 67% per annum. As the
fissile material growth rate does not meet this objective, it becomes necessary to look at
alternative approaches for obtaining the fissile material. This conclusion is mostly
independent of future technical breakthroughs, and complementary to the eventual
implementation of the three-stage approach. It was realized that the best way to get
access to the requisite fissile material would be through uranium imports, which was not
possible without ending Indias nuclear isolation by U.S. and the NSG.
U.S. analyst Ashley J. Tellis argues that the Indo-US nuclear deal is attractive to India
because it gives it access to far more options on its civil nuclear programme than would
otherwise be the case, primarily by ending its isolation from the international nuclear
community. These options include access to latest technologies, access to higher unit
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output reactors which are more economical, access to global finance for building reactors,
ability to export its indigenous small reactor size PHWRs better information flow for its
research community, etc. Finally, the deal also gives India two options that are relatively
independent from the three-stage programme, at least in terms of their dependencies on
success or failure. The first option is that, India can opt to stay with the first stage
reactors as long as the global supply of uranium lasts. The plus side of this is that it
covers any risk from short term delays or failures in implementing the three-stage
programme. On the negative side, this is an option that is antithetical to the underlying
objective of energy independence through the exploitation of thorium.
The second option, and perhaps the more interesting one, is that India can choose to
access the third stage of thorium reactors by skipping the more difficult second stage of
the plan through some appropriately selected parallel approach such as the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, the molten salt reactor, or the various accelerator driven
systems.
Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh stated in 2009 that the nation could generate
up to 470 GW of power by 2050 if it managed the three-stage program well. "This will
sharply reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and will be a major contribution to global
efforts to combat climate change", he reportedly said According to plan, 30% of the
Indian electricity in 2050 will be generated from thorium based reactors. Indian nuclear
scientists estimate that the country could produce 500 GWe for at least four centuries
using just the countrys economically extractable thorium reserves.
According to the Chairman of Indias Atomic Energy Commission, DrSrikumar
Banerjee, without the implementation offast breeders the presently available uranium
reserves of 5.469 million tonnes can support 570 GWe till 2025. If the total identified
and undiscovered uranium reserves of 16 million tonnes are brought online, the power
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availability can be extended till the end of the century. While calling for more research
into thorium as an energy source and the countrys indigenous three-stage programme, he
said, The world always felt there would be a miracle. Unfortunately, we have not seen
any miracle for the last 40 years. Unless we wake up, humans won't be able to exist
beyond this century.
The recent wide spread opposition from various sectors of society against the
Koodamkulam nuclear power plant and the Governments dissident attitude towards
these struggles shows that the rhetoric peaceful trait of Indias nuclear programme is now
turning to a history.