India’s Nuclear Energy Programme

Future Plans, Prospects and Concerns

R. Rajaraman (Ed.)

Nuclear energy is one of the most contentious areas of India’s technology policy today. This book contains state-of-the-art discussions, by top experts, of a whole range of diverse issues that constitute this complex subject.

The topics discussed include: public concerns like reactor safety and radiation hazards, technical issues like the use of breeder reactors and closed fuel cycles, and legal issues like the regulatory bodies, major legislative acts, international conventions and rules.
What is very special about this book is that it brings together, for the first time, expert contributions both from apex leaders of the nuclear programme and from those who have serious reservations about the programme. Matters are discussed in sufficient detail so that the reader can assess the arguments pro and con.

R. Rajaraman is an emeritus professor of theoretical physics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is Co-Chair of the International Panel on Fissile Materials and at the time of writing,

Vice-President of the Indian National Science Academy. He got his PhD in 1963 from Cornell University under the supervision of the Nobel Laureate Prof Hans Bethe. Since then, he has been doing research and teaching in physics at Cornell University, the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, Harvard University, M.I.T, Stanford University, CERN, Delhi University and the Indian Institute for Science. His research areas include: nuclear theory, quantum field theory, statistical mechanics, particle physics and quantum hall systems. He has also been working on nuclear policy—both military and civilian. He has analysed India’s nuclear doctrine, credible minimal deterrence, early warning systems, missile defence, battlefield nuclear weapons. With colleagues, he has extensively analysed fissile material production in India and Pakistan. He studied in depth the Indo-US nuclear agreement and its implications for India’s civilian and strategic programmes. Since Fukushima, he has also been addressing public concerns of reactor safety.