Department of Atomic Energy
PARLIAMENT QUESTION: MILESTONES ACHIEVED IN PFBR PROJECT
प्रविष्टि तिथि:
04 DEC 2025 6:19PM by PIB Delhi
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) issued permission for Initial Fuel Loading (IFL) into the reactor core, First Approach to Criticality (FAC) and Low Power Physics Experiments (LPPE) for PFBR on 16.10.2025. Loading of 37 sub-assemblies including 28 fuel sub-assembilies into the reactor is in progress. Once the loading of all fuel sub- assembilies into the reactor core is completed, the next milestone is FAC.
The present ecosystem of the domestic nuclear industry comprises both government and private units. The Departmental enterprises are engaged in manufacturing of nuclear materials (fissile materials, neutron absorbers, heavy water, zirconium alloy products etc.), nuclear reactor fuel assemblies, components, nuclear detectors/sensors, etc.
Majority of nuclear equipment for 700 MWe PHWRs, 200 MWe Bharat Small Modular Reactor (BSMR-200), and 55 MWe Small Modular Reactor (SMR-55) are within the capability of Indian private industries. To meet the requirements of nuclear energy capacity expansion, The Department gives priority for development of new vendors with handholding by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to fulfil the mandate of “Make in India”. Capacity augmentation of private players is likely to be stimulated by scale of orders.
Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), a constituent unit of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), has the mandate to identify and evaluate mineral resources of uranium, thorium, niobium, tantalum, beryllium, lithium, zirconium, titanium and Rare Earth Elements (REEs) to support Nuclear Power Programme of the country.
To identify and augment additional mineral resources of the aforesaid elements, AMD is carrying out integrated and multi-disciplinary exploration (including geophysical, geological, geochemical and radiometric surveys) in potential geological domains of the country.
Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), a Public Sector Undertaking under the DAE, is engaged in the mining and processing of uranium ore in the country. The company is operating seven uranium mines and two processing plants in the State of Jharkhand and one uranium mine and processing plant in the State of Andhra Pradesh.
DAE has a comprehensive and internally aligned framework to ensure safe and long-term management of radioactive waste generated from the existing reactors and expanding reactor fleets including fleets of small modular reactors (SMRs). Nuclear waste arising from the nuclear power plants and fuel cycle facility will be safely
managed/disposed under the provisions of “The Atomic Energy Act, 1962”, subsequent amendments and the Atomic Energy (Safe Disposal of Radioactive Wastes) Rules, 1987.
As a waste management philosophy, no waste in any physical form is released/ disposed to the environment unless same is cleared, exempted or excluded from regulations. Low and intermediate level waste generated from operation and maintenance of a nuclear power plants are managed at plant site itself. These wastes are treated, concentrated, compacted, immobilised in solid like cement and disposed in specially constructed structures such as reinforcement concrete trenches and tile holes located at the site. The disposal facility is kept under constant surveillance to confirm effective containment of radioactivity present in the disposed waste.
Slightly enriched uranium (SEU) is considered as potential fuel for proposed Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). Systems have been planned to handle spent fuel and its in- situ storage. In case of domestic fuel, it is proposed to carry out reprocessing of spent fuel to recover valuable nuclear materials and reduce the overall nuclear waste burden. Broad philosophy of nuclear waste management remains same to reduce the overall nuclear waste burden i.e. recovery of useful radioisotopes, if any, volume reduction followed by vitrification of waste in stable glass matrix and storage in engineered facilities kept under surveillance at par with internationally accepted practices.
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(रिलीज़ आईडी: 2198944)
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