RAS question
The nuclear reactor at Kudankulam was built with cooperation from which country?
Correct answer: (C) Russia.
The nuclear reactor at Kudankulam was built with cooperation from Russia.
Explanation
Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is associated with Russian cooperation, not with the other civil nuclear partners named in the options. The plant is a Russian-cooperation project using VVER-1000 pressurised water reactor technology under an inter-governmental agreement. NPCIL's official Kudankulam project page supports this framing: for Kudankulam Units 3 and 4, it states that the project is being implemented with technical cooperation from the Russian Federation within the framework of an Inter-Governmental Agreement signed between the Russian Federation and the Republic of India. That is why Russia is the substantive answer, not merely a plausible nuclear partner of India.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The USA has a civil nuclear deal with India, but Kudankulam and the NPCIL project page tie Kudankulam to Russian cooperation.
- (B) France is linked in the question data to cooperation on the Jaitapur nuclear project, whereas Kudankulam is identified as a Russian-cooperation project.
- (D) Japan signed a civil nuclear agreement with India, but that does not make it the cooperating country for Kudankulam, which NPCIL connects to the Russian Federation.
Concept
This tests science-and-technology current affairs around India's nuclear-energy cooperation and major power projects. RAS repeats such questions because project location, technology partner and strategic agreement details are standard exam hooks.