Nuclear materials

India has very limited reserves of uranium and a vast reserve of thorium. Keeping a strong focus on self-reliance, H.J. Bhabha enunciated a three stage Indian nuclear power programme to exploit our nuclear resources and this has been providing the road map for work in the Department of Atomic Energy. Most of the fissile materials such as ²³⁹Pu and ²³³U has to come from the second stage by operating FBRs. Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research at Kalpakkam is carrying out pioneering work in fast reactor development. A 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is nearing completion at Kalpakkam. Fast reactor based nuclear power capacity which can be sustained on the basis of existing uranium resources of India is about 600,000 MWe. Grover has given the nuclear power growth scenario in India based on different reactor combinations. The talk will cover Nuclear materials, their availability in India, man-made nuclear materials like Pu and ²³³U and also how these materials have to be safeguarded