India's nuclear power program : a study of India's unique approach to nuclear energy

India is in the middle of the biggest expansion of nuclear power in its history, adding 20 GWe in the next 14 years in the form of pressure water reactors and fast breeder reactors. At the same time, the United States is overturning decades of policy in order to resume the export of nuclear materials to India, opening up the possibility of private investors in the Indian nuclear industry for the first time. This is a period of progress and turmoil in India's nuclear power program. This thesis seeks to describe and analyze India's nuclear prospects and to qualitatively assess the system's strengths and weaknesses. Using the inception of the country's nuclear power program as a starting point, this thesis will trace India's nuclear lineage to the present. In the process, it will evaluate what makes the Indian program unique, and why it may not be ideal for India that the United States is finally renewing its offers of a cooperative nuclear alliance.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Murray, Caitlin Lenore

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Richard K. Lester.

• Nuclear Science and Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/41594

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/41594