Indian economy took off post nuclear tests: former AEC chairman R. Chidambaram

Former AEC chairman discusses India's nuclear program growth, economic impact, and future nuclear energy plans at event.

The Indian nuclear weapons programme is totally indigenous and contrary to the forecasts of an economic doom following the nuclear tests in both 1974 and later in 1998, the economy has only grown exponentially with foreign exchange reserves rising ever since, said former Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) chairman and eminent scientist R. Chidambaram here on Wednesday.

Reliving the period when the country took a giant leap to go nuclear during a talk – ‘May 1974 Test and Beyond’ as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the event, organised by the National Academy of Sciences and Telangana Academy of Sciences, he said high technology exports too received a boost post the tests as the country was considered as a ‘technology power’. Mr. Chidambaram, who was involved in both ‘Smiling Buddha’ and ‘Operation Shakti’ , said another eminent scientist Raja Ramanna had entrusted him the task of a ‘peaceful nuclear explosion’ at Pokhran and it was done against much opposition from within the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) but the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi gave a go ahead even as the “device was inside the shaft”.

In 1998, however, it was clearly a nuclear weapon which was tested (difference between both is in delivery system and package) and five tests of various capacities were done as he was sure “we will not get chances later”. Though various capacities were tested from one kilo tonne, 15-45 KTs, the weapons could be easily scaled up to 200 kilo tonnes by changing the isotypes. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee then announced to the world, India is now a nuclear weapon power, he explained.

“There were many scientists working on the project but many were not aware of what they were doing though some could guess, that’s how we maintained the secrecy. Nobody gave us the technology and we did not steal from anyone”. For a country as big as India, it was imperative to have a nuclear deterrent although it is very difficult to hazard a guess on how much stockpile is “enough”, he said.

Earlier, Nuclear Fuel Complex Chief Executive Officer Komal Kapoor has informed that nuclear energy could play a key role in the country deciding to become carbon neutral by the year 2047, hence from the present 23 nuclear power generating stations (7.5 GW), the plan is increase the capacity by three times.

About a dozen new pressurised heavy water plants and four light water plants are in the pipeline to generate an estimated 100 GW within next 25 years. NFC production is slated to rise to 3,000 metric tonnes from 1,900 MTs by 2032 and 6,400 MTs by 2047. Key product in nuclear plants like Zirconium sponge production is to be enhanced to 2,000 MTs from 750 MT by 2038. Former CSIR-CCMB director Ch. Mohan Rao, former Institute of Genetics director A. Jyothi, former OU VC S. Satyanarayana and others also spoke.