Sci-Tech · 28 Aug 2026

PHWR SHANTI Act nuclear energy

Which one of the following statements regarding India's nuclear energy sector is NOT correct?

APressurised Heavy-Water Reactors (PHWRs) use heavy water as both coolant and moderator, allowing them to run on natural, unenriched uranium.
BThe SHANTI Act, enacted in December 2025, provides the legal framework opening India's nuclear sector to private participation.
CIndia's indigenous PHWR technology costs more per MWe than imported Russian reactor designs.
DThe Central Electricity Authority has set a target of 100 GWe of nuclear capacity by 2047.
This question is based on: Why Money Alone Can't Buy India a Nuclear Reactor
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About this question

Why in news

With private players like Adani Atomic Energy and Jindal Steel entering India's newly opened nuclear sector, NPCIL is setting up a design vertical to transfer technical capability, since capital alone cannot substitute for reactor design and licensing expertise.

Why for UPSC

This tests whether aspirants have internalised the actual cost comparison rather than assuming "domestic equals costlier" - a realistic inversion trap UPSC frequently uses with cost/comparison facts.

Prelims summary

PHWRs use heavy water as coolant/moderator and run on unenriched uranium, costing roughly half of imported Russian reactors per MWe. The SHANTI Act (Dec 2025) opened India's nuclear sector to private players; CEA targets 100 GWe nuclear capacity by 2047.

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