MCQ
Three-Stage Nuclear Programme MCQ - Practice Questions with Answers
Solve 95 Three-Stage Nuclear Programme questions for RAS/RPSC preparation.
Practice questions
Q1Consider the following statements: 1. AHWR is designed to demonstrate advanced safety features and thorium utilisation for commercial nuclear power. 2. AHWR is described by BARC as a 500 MWe fast breeder reactor. 3. AHWR uses boiling heavy water as coolant and light water as moderator. Which of the statements given above are correct?
Statement 1 is true. Statements 2 and 3 are false: BARC describes AHWR as 300 MWe, vertical pressure tube type, boiling light water cooled and heavy water moderated, not a 500 MWe FBR and not heavy-water cooled/light-water moderated.
Q2Consider the following statements: 1. Criticality is the point at which a sustained and controlled nuclear fission chain reaction begins. 2. At criticality, neutrons produced by fission equal those lost through absorption and leakage. 3. Criticality is the final step after a reactor has already begun commercial electricity supply. 4. The PFBR attaining criticality is linked by PIB to India’s entry into the second stage of the three-stage programme. Which of the statements given above are correct?
Statements 1, 2 and 4 are correct. PIB defines criticality as the start of a sustained, controlled fission chain reaction, explains neutron balance at that point, and links PFBR criticality to entry into the second stage. Statement 3 is incorrect because criticality is the transition from construction to operation and the first step towards heat and electricity generation, not a post-commercial final step.
Q3Consider the following statements about the second stage of India's Three-Stage Nuclear Programme: 1. Plutonium extracted from spent PHWR fuel serves as fuel for Fast Breeder Reactors. 2. Fast Breeder Reactors are part of the first stage of the nuclear programme. 3. In a Fast Breeder Reactor, uranium-238 in the blanket undergoes transmutation to produce fresh plutonium-239. Which of the statements given above are correct?
Statement 1 is correct: BARC links plutonium from spent PHWR fuel to FBR fuel. Statement 2 is incorrect because FBRs belong to the second stage, not the first. Statement 3 is correct: uranium-238 in the blanket transmutes into plutonium-239.
Q4Consider the following statements about thorium irradiation and U-233 recovery milestones: 1. Thoria blanket assemblies have been irradiated in FBTR. 2. Thoria fuel rods irradiated in CIRUS have been reprocessed at BARC's Uranium Thorium Separation Facility. 3. U-233 recovered from CIRUS thoria rods has been fabricated as fuel for KAMINI reactor. 4. U-233 recovered from thoria blanket assemblies in FBTR has been used as routine PHWR coolant. Which of the statements given above are correct?
Statements 1, 2 and 3 are correct. BARC lists FBTR thoria blanket assemblies, UTSF reprocessing of CIRUS thoria rods, and KAMINI fuel fabrication from recovered U-233. Statement 4 is false: the FBTR-recovered U-233 was used for experimental irradiation of a PFBR-type fuel assembly, not as PHWR coolant.
Q5Consider the following statements: 1. The PFBR at Kalpakkam is a 700 MWe reactor. 2. Its technology development and design were indigenously done by NPCIL. 3. It was built and commissioned by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. Which of the statements given above are correct?
All three statements are false. The PFBR is 500 MWe, not 700 MWe. IGCAR did the indigenous technology development and design, while BHAVINI built and commissioned it. AERB's role cited by PIB was regulatory clearance after safety review, not construction or commissioning.
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More questions
6Consider the following statements about PFBR blankets and breeding: 1. The PFBR core is surrounded by a blanket of U-238. 2. Fast neutrons convert fertile U-238 into fissile Pu-239. 3. The PFBR is designed to eventually use thorium-232 in the blanket. 4. Thorium-232 in the blanket is converted into Pu-239 to power Stage-III. Which of the statements given above are correct?
7Consider the following statements: 1. The PFBR uses Uranium-Plutonium Mixed Oxide fuel. 2. Its core is surrounded by a blanket of Uranium-238. 3. Fast neutrons in the PFBR convert fertile Uranium-238 into Uranium-233. Which of the statements given above are correct?
8Consider the following statements about thorium fuel-cycle milestones mentioned by BARC: 1. Thoria fuel rods irradiated in CIRUS were reprocessed at the Uranium Thorium Separation Facility, BARC. 2. The recovered uranium-233 from those CIRUS thoria fuel rods was fabricated as fuel for KAMINI reactor. 3. Thoria blanket assemblies irradiated in FBTR were reprocessed at IGCAR, and recovered uranium-233 was used for experimental irradiation of PFBR-type fuel assembly in FBTR. 4. BARC states that thorium fuel-cycle work began only after the PFBR first attained criticality in 2026. Which of the statements given above are correct?
9Consider the following statements about the stages of India's nuclear programme: 1. Stage II envisages fast breeder reactors fuelled by plutonium produced in Stage I. 2. Stage II reactors would also breed U-233 from thorium. 3. Stage III comprises power reactors using only natural uranium as fuel. Which of the statements given above are correct?
10Consider the following statements: 1. The PFBR at Kalpakkam is built by Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited. 2. The PFBR technology was developed by the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research. 3. The PFBR uses uranium-plutonium mixed oxide fuel, unlike conventional thermal reactors. 4. The PFBR is located at Tarapur Nuclear Complex. Which of the statements given above are correct?
11Consider the following statements about IMSBR in India's nuclear programme: 1. The Indian molten salt breeder reactor is described by BARC as a platform to burn thorium as part of the third stage. 2. IMSBR fuel is a continuously circulating molten fluoride salt. 3. IMSBR is a Stage I PHWR using natural uranium fuel bundles. Which of the statements given above are correct?
12Consider the following statements: 1. Fast breeder technology is described as a bridge between India's PHWR fleet and future thorium-based reactors. 2. The PFBR is designed eventually to use Thorium-232 in the blanket. 3. Thorium-232 in this route is converted into Plutonium-239 for the third stage. Which of the statements given above are correct?
13According to the Department of Atomic Energy on 27 April 2026, the 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam represents a major step in which stage of India's three-stage nuclear programme?
14Consider the following statements about thorium in India's Three-Stage Nuclear Programme: 1. Thorium-232 is itself a fissile material used directly as the main third-stage fuel. 2. Thorium-232 can transform into uranium-233 by neutron capture. 3. Uranium-233 is planned as the fuel of the first stage of the programme. Which of the statements given above are correct?
15Consider the following statements: 1. India’s three-stage programme is built on a closed nuclear fuel cycle. 2. The programme aims to progressively multiply domestic fissile resources. 3. In the programme design, each stage feeds into the next. 4. The third stage is meant to harness India’s thorium reserves at scale using U-233 bred earlier. Which of the statements given above are correct?