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RAS question

The Mahi Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (MBRAPP), whose foundation stone was laid in September 2025, is being implemented by which entity?

Correct answer: (C) ASHVINI — a Joint Venture of NPCIL and NTPC.

The Mahi Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Project is being implemented by Anushakti Vidhyut Nigam Limited (ASHVINI), a joint venture of NPCIL and NTPC Ltd.

  1. (A)

    NPCIL alone

  2. (B)

    NTPC alone

  3. (C)

    ASHVINI — a Joint Venture of NPCIL and NTPC

  4. (D)

    BHEL in collaboration with Department of Atomic Energy

Explanation

MBRAPP is not a project of either NPCIL or NTPC acting alone. The PIB release states that it is being implemented by Anushakti Vidhyut Nigam Limited (ASHVINI), described as a subsidiary of NPCIL and a joint venture of NPCIL and NTPC Ltd. That matters because the project is also identified as the first nuclear power project in India to be set up by a joint venture of two Central Public Sector Enterprises. The source further supports the scale mentioned in the explanation: four 700 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor units, developed indigenously by NPCIL, to be built in two twin-unit phases at a total cost of Rs. 42,000 crore.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) NPCIL is part of the implementing structure, but the project is being implemented through ASHVINI, a joint venture with NTPC Ltd., not by NPCIL alone.
  • (B) NTPC Ltd. is a joint-venture partner in ASHVINI, but the source does not describe MBRAPP as an NTPC-only project.
  • (D) The cited PIB release names ASHVINI, NPCIL and NTPC Ltd.; it does not name BHEL as the implementing entity for MBRAPP.

Concept

This tests current science-and-technology infrastructure in India, especially institutional arrangements in the nuclear power sector. RAS asks such items because Rajasthan-specific projects often combine location, capacity and implementing agency in one factual prompt.

Source

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