Foreign cooperation will boost thorium research: Minister

Dec 5, 2007, 13:26 GMT

New Delhi, Dec 5 (IANS) India's research on using thorium as nuclear fuel was making progress and it will get a boost if there was foreign cooperation, Prithviraj Chavan, minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), told the Lok Sabha Wednesday.

He said the government was trying to evolve a consensus in the country on the India-US civil nuclear agreement. 'We are hoping to get a clearance and unanimity in the country on the international agreement. That will come soon,' Chavan said.

Replying to a question on the nuclear power generation with international cooperation, he said India had planned expansion of indigenous nuclear power, including eight indigenous 700 MW capacity pressurised heavy water reactors.

'This will be entirely done with indigenous sources of uranium. This has been planned now. In addition, we are planning some light water reactors based on imported reactors, which will be subjected to international cooperation.'

He added that the government was also planning new advanced heavy water reactors of 300 MW capacity, which will be taken up soon. India is constructing a 500 MW fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam.

Regarding the research on using thorium for nuclear power generation, he said: 'The research on thorium is completely on track. We are going ahead with it. If the international cooperation happens, it will go on a much faster pace.'

But he added: 'The research on the thorium technology is a long three-phased programme. Unless and until we complete the second phase, the fast breeder reactor programme, we cannot really start generating power from thorium.'

Pointing out that the world was turning to nuclear power generation due to the global warming concerns, Chavan said the National Thermal Power Corporation would also enter the sector if it were opened up.

Current laws permit only Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, under the Department of Atomic Energy, to produce nuclear power.

He said a second campus of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Trombay, was being set up near Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, to carry out advanced research and development in nuclear science.

© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service