Nuclear power: the need, the myths, the realities

Dr. H.J. Bhabha in his presidential address of 1^st International Conference on the peaceful uses of Atomic Energy held at Geneva in 1955 said 'In the broad view of human history it is possible to discern three great epochs. The first is marked by the emergence of the early civilizations in the valleys of Euphrates, the Indus and the Nile, the second by the industrial revolution, leading to the civilization in which we live, and the third by the discovery of atomic energy and the dawn of the atomic age, which we are just entering. Each epoch marks a change in the energy pattern of society'. The journey of development from the early man to today's technological man has been possible due to ever-increasing energy consumption. Today, we consume around 100 times more energy per capita as compared to the early man. Even after so many decades of independence, the big question we face today is that how to make our country totally self-dependent. For this, we will have to ensure security and self-sufficiency for every citizen of the country, in the areas of food, shelter, primary education, clean and sufficient potable water and high level health-care. For achieving all this, the availability of cheap and abundant energy is a must. Amongst others, nuclear power is a primary source of energy with lot of scope for development and is free of greenhouse gas effect. Nuclear power therefore has its own place in any energy policy of India. Our uranium resources are modest but abundant resources of thorium are there in the country. The three stage Indian nuclear power programme is essentially based on this fact