India’s nuclear energy renaissance: stuck in the middle?

Abstract

India envisioned an ambitious three-stage nuclear energy programme with plans to generate over 20,000 MW of power, though realities forced its revision to 10,000 MW. Despite being targeted by denial regimes after its 1974 peaceful nuclear explosion, the country managed to develop a largely indigenous infrastructure, propelled by the promise of exploiting its vast thorium resources. Having been stuck in the first-stage for long, India decided to integrate with the non-proliferation regime through the nuclear suppliers group waiver. The renewed access to nuclear commerce opened up opportunities for expanding its nuclear industry with international support, while sparing domestic resources for the three-stage plan. However, following the Fukushima incident and subsequent public upheavals, nuclear expansion plans face the prospect of being derailed. More spoilers came through India’s nuclear liability and international restrictions on recycling technologies. The paper examines the current status of India’s three-stage plan, the promise of the nuclear deal and the implications of public movements against nuclear expansion.