DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

Prime Minister dedicated to the nation, indigenously developed Demonstration Fast Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Plant (DFRP) at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu.

• The plant - It is a pilot for the bigger facility that would come up to reprocess the fuel that would come out of the two more 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactors (PFBR) that would come up later.

A fast breeder reactor is one, which breeds more material for a nuclear fission reaction than it consumes and is the key to India’s three-stage nuclear power programme.

• Function - This ground-breaking facility has the unique distinction of being the world’s only industrial-scale plant capable of handling both carbide and oxide spent fuels from fast reactors.

Spent fuel refers to the nuclear fuel that has been used in a reactor.

Fast Reactor Fuel Cycle Facility (FRFCF)

• The Fast Reactor Fuel Cycle Facility (FRFCF), which is being set up in Kalpakkam is expected to be completed by 2027.

Executed by - The FRFCF project is executed by the Nuclear Recycle Board, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

Purpose - The purpose of FRFCF is to reprocess the spent fuel of the fast breeder reactors.

Nuclear Waste?

In a fission reactor, neutrons bombard the nuclei of atoms of certain elements. When one such nucleus absorbs a neutron, it destabilises and breaks up, yielding some energy and the nuclei of different elements.

• • For example, when the uranium-235 (U-235) nucleus absorbs a neutron, it can fission to barium-144, krypton-89, and three neutrons. If the ‘debris’ (barium-144 and krypton-89) constitute elements that can’t undergo fission, they become nuclear waste.
  • Fuel loaded into a nuclear reactor becomes irradiated and must eventually be removed, at which point it is known as spent fuel.

Nuclear waste is highly radioactive and needs to be stored in facilities reinforced to prevent leakage into and/or contamination of the local environment.

Note

• Fission is a process in which the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei and some byproducts.When the nucleus splits, the kinetic energy of the fission fragments (primary nuclei) is transferred to other atoms in the fuel as heat energy, which is eventually used to produce steam to drive the turbines.
• Fusion is defined as the combining of several small nuclei into one large nucleus with the subsequent release of huge amounts of energy.
  • Harnessing fusion, the process that powers the Sun could provide a limitless, clean energy source.In the sun, the extreme pressure produced by its immense gravity creates the conditions for fusion to happen.

How does India handle nuclear waste?

• According to a 2015 report from the International Panel on Fissile Materials (IPFM), India has reprocessing plants in Trombay, Tarapur, and Kalpakkam.
  • The Trombay facility reprocesses 50 tonnes of heavy metal per year (tHM/y) as spent fuel from two research reactors to produce plutonium for stage II reactors as well as nuclear weapons.
  • Of the two in Tarapur, one used to reprocess 100 tHM/y of fuel from some pressurised heavy water reactors (stage I) and the other, commissioned in 2011, has a capacity of 100 tHM/y.
  • The third facility in Kalpakkam processes 100 tHM/y.
• The report also suggested the Tarapur and Kalpakkam facilities operate with a combined average capacity factor of around 15%.

India’s 3-Stage Nuclear Programme

• India's three-stage nuclear power programme was formulated by Dr Homi Bhabha to secure the country's long term energy independence.
• The ultimate focus of the programme is on enabling the thorium reserves of India to be utilised in meeting the country's energy requirements.
  • Thorium is particularly attractive for India, as India has only around 1–2% of the global uranium reserves, but one of the largest shares of global thorium reserves at about 25% of the world's known thorium reserves.
  • Thorium is found in the monazite sands of coastal regions of South India.
• Dr Homi Bhabha, therefore, devised a three-stage nuclear power programme to make the most of India's limited uranium reserves and abundant thorium reserves.
• Each stage of the programme has fuel cycle linkages.
  • This means that spent fuel from one stage is reprocessed to obtain fuel for the next stage — there is little to no wastage.
• Ultimately, the goal is to generate nuclear power while ensuring long-term energy security.

3-Stages of India’s Nuclear Programme

• The three stages are:
  • Pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) using natural uranium as fuel:
    • The first stage involves using natural uranium in PHWRs to multiply domestically available fissile resources.
    • Natural uranium consists of 0.7 per cent Uranium-235, which undergoes fission to release energy.
    • The remaining 99.3 per cent is Uranium-238, which is not fissile but can be converted into the fissile element Plutonium-239 in a nuclear reactor.
  • FBRs using plutonium as fuel:
    • In the second stage, plutonium from the spent fuel of PHWRs is used in FBRs, such as the one at Kalpakkam which saw the initiation of core loading on 4 March.
    • FBRs are fuelled by a mixed oxide of Uranium-238 and Plutonium-239, which is recovered by reprocessing the spent fuel from the first stage.
    • In FBRs, Plutonium-239 undergoes fission, producing energy and more Plutonium-239 through the transmutation of Uranium-238.
    • This process allows FBRs to produce energy and additional fuel, which is why they are termed "breeders." FBRs generate more fuel than they consume.
    • Over time, a stockpile of plutonium can be built up by introducing Uranium-238 into the reactor.
  • Advanced reactors using Uranium-233 as fuel in a thorium-uranium cycle:
    • Once enough nuclear capacity is built, the third stage will involve using thorium, which will be converted into Uranium-233 in FBRs.
    • Thorium-232, which is abundant in India, is not fissile. Therefore, it needs to be converted into a fissile material, Uranium-233, through transmutation in an FBR.
    • Significant commercial use of thorium can only begin when there are abundant supplies of either Uranium-233 or plutonium.
    • The conversion from thorium to uranium is planned to be achieved in the second stage of the programme, which involves the commercial operation of FBRs.

When Will India Achieve 3 Stages of the Nuclear Programme?

• The third stage, utilising thorium as an energy source, is expected to be reached in a few decades.
• To prepare for the use of thorium in the third stage of the programme, efforts are currently underway to develop and demonstrate the necessary technology.
• This is being done so that a mature technology for thorium utilisation will be ready in time.
• The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre is developing a 300 MWe advanced heavy water reactor (AHWR).
• The AHWR is an innovative concept that serves as a bridge between the first and third stages of the nuclear programme.
• It aims to advance thorium utilisation without going through the second stage.

Significance of Nuclear Energy Generated through 3-Stage Programme

• Just like with uranium, generating electricity from thorium produces no greenhouse gases, making it a clean energy source.
• Thorium reactors are also more cost-effective than conventional reactors.
• Nobel laureate Carlo Rubbia estimates that a tonne of thorium could produce as much energy as 200 tonnes of uranium or 4 million tonnes of coal. As a result, far less nuclear waste is generated.
• Importantly, the waste from thorium reactors contains no isotopes with a half-life beyond 35 years, significantly reducing the required storage time.
• Harnessing thorium for India's energy needs presents many economic opportunities.
  • The availability of affordable electricity could drive a transition away from gas, petrol, and diesel for cooking and transportation.
  • Additionally, nuclear energy could alleviate the pressure on the railways by reducing the need to transport millions of tons of coal, potentially reducing the necessity for service expansion.
• The three-stage nuclear programme is expected to make India completely self-sufficient in nuclear energy.

It is a sparsely populated geographic region of the easternmost Isthmus of Panama that extends into northwestern Colombia, around the Gulf of Urabá.It forms the physiographic link between Central and South America.

Over 100,000 minors crossed Darien gap in 2023 to reach US.

Features - A hot, humid area typified by tropical rainforests, mangrove swamps, and low mountain ranges with cloud forest vegetation.

• The Pan-American Highway does not traverse Darién, which effectively blocks land transportation between Central and South America.

National Parks - A pair of contiguous parks administer a large part of the region, Darién National Park in Panama and Los Katíos National Park in Colombia.

Darién National Park is a World Heritage Site in Panama.

The Centre has decided to start an advanced smart fencing system for the entire India-Myanmar border with the end of free movement regime.

• Free Movement Regime – It is a mutual pact between India and Myanmar to allow tribes dwelling along the border on either side to travel up to 16 km inside the other without a visa.

India shares a 1,643 km-long border with Myanmar, which passes through the States of Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Nagaland (215 km), Manipur (398 km), and Mizoram (510 km).

• Initiated in – 1970’s, last revised in 2016.
• Aim – To facilitate people-to-people ties between the countries as residents in the region enjoy strong ethnic and familial relations on both sides of the border.
• Eligibility – It can be used by either a citizen of India or a citizen of Myanmar with the production of a border pass, usually valid for a year, and can stay for up to 2 weeks per visit.
• Challenges – Myanmar’s military coup in 2021 prompted an influx of undocumented migrants, who took shelter in Mizoram, and also entered Manipur.
• The migrants belonging to the Kuki-Chin-Zo ethnic group share ethnic ties with communities in Mizoram and Manipur.
• Suspension – Manipur has suspended the FMR since 2020, due to COVID-19 pandemic but now urges the centre to end FMR as it attributes to the ongoing ethnic violence in the State.

India’s International border security is Centre’s domain.

• End of FMR – Fencing along the entire border will be completed in the next 4-and-half years and it necessitates a visa requirement.
• Significance of Ending FMR – It is to stop the misuse of the FMR by insurgent groups to carry out attacks on the Indian side and flee towards Myanmar and also to put a brake on the influx of illegal immigrants, drugs and gold smuggling.

There is an urgent need to regulate frameworks to ensure the effective implementation of biodiversity credits.

Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF)

Aim - KMGBF aims to catalyze transformative action by governments, and subnational and local authorities, with the involvement of all of society, to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.

• Adoption - KMGBF was adopted in 2022 at the 15th Conference of Parties (CoP15) of Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
• Financing work - Biodiversity credits are increasingly being pushed as a means for financing work on the various targets set under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).

Biodiversity Credits

• Biodiversity credit is a financial mechanism, which represents an asset created through investments in the restoration, conservation, and development of biodiversity in a specific landscape.

Biocredits are similar to carbon credits used to control greenhouse gas emissions.

• Biocredits are not designed to offset or compensate for actions with negative impacts on biodiversity.
• Instead, proceeds from the sale of biocredits are used to protect and restore biodiversity where it exists.
• To promote biocredits, the biodiversity credit alliance was also launched at CoP15.

Biodiversity Credit Alliance (BCA)

• BCA provides guidance for the establishment of a credible and scalable market that stands up to the scrutiny of multiple stakeholders.
• BCA is working together with the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities to ensure strong foundations and principles exist and can be applied by all market participants going forward.
• BCA was launched during the COP 15 with the support from UNDP, the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDCA).
• BCA is a voluntary international alliance that brings together diverse stakeholders to support the realization of the Global Biodiversity Framework.

Implementation and Initiatives:

Ocean Conservation Commitments (OCCs): Launched in September 2023, OCCs are tied to Niue's Moana Mahu Marine Protected Area, covering 127,000 square kilometers.

• • • OCCs are available for purchase by interested buyers, each representing a commitment to support conservation efforts for 20 years.
    • Priced at USD 148 per OCC, these commitments have attracted investments from non-governmental organizations like the Blue Nature Alliance, Conservation International, and private donors.

Wallacea Trust: This UK-based organization focused on biodiversity and climate research has made substantial financial commitments, amounting to 5 million biodiversity credits. Their engagement signals a significant interest from research-oriented entities in utilizing biodiversity credits to support conservation efforts.

National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA)

• NPCA is a single conservation programme for both wetlands and lakes.
• It is a centrally sponsored scheme, currently being implemented by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).
  • It was formulated in 2015 by merging of the National Lake Conservation Plan and the National Wetlands Conservation Programme.
• NPCA seeks to promote better synergy and avoid overlap of administrative functions.

• Valmiki, also known as Maharishi Valmiki, is a legendary poet and revered sage in Hindu mythology.
• He is known as the author of the epic poem Ramayana, and is revered as the 1^st poet in Sanskrit literature.
• He is called as the Adikavi or First Poet - the Poet of Poets of India.

Valmiki's birth anniversary is celebrated every year on Ashwin Purnima.

• The Warli are an indigenous of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
• The name "Warli" comes from the word "Warla", which means "piece of land" or "field".
• The Warli are considered by some to be a sub-caste of the Bhil tribe, and their history dates back to the 10th century AD.

The Warli people speak Varli or Warli, an Indo-Aryan language.