Viability of Nuclear Energy for India

Recently, there has been a worldwide push towards nuclear energy in the wake of the Ukraine crisis and sanctions on Russia. Nuclear energy, which suffered as a result of Fukushima disaster, particularly in countries such as Germany and Japan, seems to be making a comeback. The European Union succeeded in making nuclear energy a clean energy option. Organisations such as the International Energy Agency, who have a strong influence on NITI Aayog’s (2017) energy policy, have been advocating the resurgence of nuclear power (ET Online 2022) to meet climate change targets. (India is in 126th place with CO₂ emissions per capita of 1.91 tonnes well below the world average of 4.91 tonnes [Worldo­meter 2022].) Nuclear energy has traditionally only been a minuscule source (3%) for India’s electricity needs (Bhagwat 2021). However, it has stronger supporters among both politicians and scientists (Joy 2021). In August 2022, a report appeared that Indian scientists extracted uranium from seawater in what could be a promising development for the future (India Today 2022), but the report did not examine the commercial viability of such a claim. This article attempts to assess the viability of nuclear energy to meet India’s needs in the future by examining the evolution of India’s programme and assessment of the nuclear programme in France and the United Kingdom (UK).

Background