AERB Grants License for Operation of India’s First 700 MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
News Today Logo

AERB Grants License for Operation of India’s First 700 MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)

Posted 07 Jul 2025

2 min read

Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has granted licence for two indigenously developed 700 MW PHWR (Units 3 and 4) at the Kakrapar Atomic Power Station in Gujarat.

About PHWR

  • First stage of India’s Three-Stage Nuclear Programme is based on PHWR. 
  • Fuel & by-product: It uses natural uranium (which is 99.28 percent uranium-238 by concentration) to generate electricity while producing plutonium-239 as a by-product.
    • Plutonium-239 will be used create a Uranium-Plutonium Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel which would subsequently be used as fuel for a Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR).
    • FBR will be used in 2nd stage of Nuclear Programme. 
  • Coolant & Moderator: In it, Heavy water (D₂O) or deuterium is used as both its coolant and neutron moderator
  • Advantages: It uses thin walled pressure tubes instead of large pressure vessels used in pressure vessel type reactors. This ensures that accidental rupture will have a much less severity. 

History of PHWR Development

  • The programme began in the late 1960s with Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS-1; 220 MWe) under Indo-Canadian cooperation.
  • After Canada withdrew support in 1974 following Pokhran-1, India was forced to develop it indigenously.
  • India then developed a standardized 220 MWe indigenous design starting with Narora Atomic Power Station (NAPS) in Uttar Pradesh.

Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB)

  • Established:   by President in 1983 as per the provision of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.
  • Regulatory authority of AERB is derived from rules & notifications promulgated under Atomic Energy Act and Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
  • Mission: To ensure the use of ionizing radiation and nuclear energy in India does not cause undue risk to the health of people and the environment.
  • Tags :
  • Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)
Watch News Today
RELATED ARTICLES
Subscribe for Premium Features