RAS question
India's three-stage nuclear power programme was formulated by:
Correct answer: (A) Homi J. Bhabha.
India's three-stage nuclear power programme was formulated by Dr. Homi J. Bhabha to use limited uranium reserves and India's vast thorium reserves through linked reactor stages.
Explanation
Dr. Homi J. Bhabha formulated India's three-stage nuclear power programme as a long-term strategy for self-reliant nuclear energy. NPCIL explains that the programme links the fuel cycles of Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors and Fast Breeder Reactors so that India's limited uranium and vast thorium reserves can be used judiciously. Stage I uses natural uranium in heavy-water moderated and cooled PHWRs, with spent fuel reprocessed to obtain plutonium. Stage II uses plutonium in Fast Breeder Reactors and also breeds U-233 from thorium. Stage III then moves to power reactors using U-233 and thorium as fuel. This sequence is why Bhabha, not later space or defence scientists, is the correct answer.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is associated in the question bank with missile and defence technology, while the cited NPCIL FAQ attributes the three-stage nuclear power programme to Dr. Homi Bhabha.
- (C) Vikram Sarabhai is known in the question bank as the father of the Indian space programme, whereas NPCIL identifies Bhabha as the formulator of the nuclear power programme.
- (D) C.V. Raman was a physicist known for the Raman Effect, not for framing India's nuclear fuel-cycle strategy, which NPCIL links to Dr. Homi Bhabha.
Concept
This tests the Science and Technology theme of India's strategic nuclear energy programme, especially the link between resource constraints and reactor-stage planning. It recurs in RAS because nuclear power, thorium utilisation, and major Indian scientific institutions sit at the intersection of science policy and national development.