‘Modular reactors are essential for net-zero goal,’ says Jitendra Singh

The Budget has maintained the primacy accorded to the space sector in recent years. What do the announcements mean for the space programme?

When we talk of the space sector, credit is due to the political leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The headway made in the past five years is because we were able to break the shackles of the past. For nearly 60-70 years, the space sector was working behind a veil of self-imposed secrecy. That deprived the sector of resources and knowledge. We had no dearth of talent. The 2023 new space policy is a watershed moment. The private sector was allowed to participate in ISRO’s activities. Just before that, in 2020, an agency called In- SPACe was set up, which is an interface between government and private sectors. This was followed by the New Space India Limited to produce and assemble launch vehicles.

There was so much enthusiasm about the developments. In 2021 or so, we had just one startup, and now have 229, as per the June 2024 figure. Some of them are world-class, many are entre­preneur stories. There is a startup called AgniKul Cosmos that has set up a private launchpad in the ISRO premises. They are reinforcing the ISRO infrastructure. There is Skyroot, which carried out the first-ever private sub-orbital launch. They are working on being the first to develop a rocket in the private sector. As a result, global companies like SpaceX are reaching out to Indian companies. All this is placing India as a frontline player in the private sector. Therefore, in 2023, we saw an in­vestment of `1,000 crore. The projection is the space economy will grow five times in the next 10 years, or around $44 billion.

This might provide employment to talent that might have gone abroad.

Absolutely. As I said, our human resources were never lacking. We have an institute in Thiruvananthapuram for space technology. The selection is on the basis of IIT-JEE exam. The batches would get 100 per cent placement, but 60-70 per cent would go to NASA. There were no avenues. Now, there not only avenues for employment, but exciting opportunities to begin a startup. A new area of livelihood has opened up.

What are the important space missions on the anvil?

The immediate one will be Gaganyaan, which was delayed due to Covid, but will now happen next year. The trial flights are going on. Then we have our robot flights, where a female robot Vayumitra, will be sent to space in 2025. The robot will do all the activities of an astronaut and return to Earth and be extracted from the landing craft. Then, if all goes well, we can send a human into space, maybe in the second half of 2025. The Indian Space Station is planned by 2035. The first Indian to land on the moon may happen by 2040.

The Budget references to the development of nuclear energy and ‘modular’ reactors seem a big step towards clean energy and a boost to nuclear technology. Is this a new path for India’s nuclear energy?

The prime minister has a natural temper for science. He is open to new ideas and bold steps. He has broken several taboos. In atomic energy, the budgets were increased and joint ventures with PSUs allowed. This has supplemented our resources. Now, new reactors are in the works. To meet the 2070 net-zero target, we will have to step up nuclear energy production. This will reduce the huge liability of importing petroleum products.

What is the concept of modular reactors?

These are 300MW or less. They are safe and handy. They do not take up much space like the 1,000MW units. The advantage is we already have 220MW reactors that can be converted to modular reactors. This is a breakthrough and an important source of energy that can be scaled up. Easier to set up and transport. Something like moving from large radio sets to small transistors.

Do we have the technological capacity?

Yes, we have the technological capacity. We will develop what is missing.

What is the situation in terms of fuel supplies for reactors?

To a great extent, we are self-sufficient. As far as uranium is concerned, in 2022, we had 4 lakh tonnes in 44 deposits across the country. The programme has had to face imponderables, like the breakup of the Soviet Union was an imponderable. We will be totally self-sufficient once we develop the thorium option. We have 21 per cent of the deposits. The Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI) is making an advanced fast breeder reactor and an exclusive hallmark of it is that it is fully indigenous. It will lead to the third stage for thorium utilisation. There will be no foreign dependence.

What is the timeline?

Criticality, it will happen in October 2024. The commencement will happen later and the capacity will be 500MW. After delays, the project was put on track in 2016.

India’s nuclear programme has been delayed due to agitations like the one at Kudankulam where apprehen­sions were spread in the fishing community that waters will become contaminated.

Let me tell you the story. An agreement was signed with USSR in 1988. Post-Soviet Union, a supplementary agreement was signed in 1998. After that, construction started in 2002 during the tenure of the Vajpayee govern­ment. Unfortunately, in the intervening 10 years during UPA rule, this sector did not get the required attention. Finally, after the Modi government assumed office, the first unit of Kudankulam started functioning in six months. Prioritisation by the political executive is key to progress. This government is very consistent. There are vested interests at work and we need to create awareness about how careful and safe our processes are.

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Rajeev Deshpande

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