The Joint Venture named ‘ASHVINI’ to develop nuclear power facility in India is between
- (a)NPCIL and NTPC
- (b)TMC and VECC
- (c)HWB and BARC
- (d)IGCAR and NTPC
Correct — A, NPCIL and NTPC. 'ASHVINI' (Anushakti Vidyut Nigam Limited) is a joint venture between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL, about 51 per cent) and NTPC Limited (about 49 per cent), formed to build, own and operate nuclear power projects in India — for example the proposed 4x700 MWe pressurised heavy-water reactors at Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan. It pairs NPCIL's nuclear expertise with NTPC's power-generation strength.
- (b)TMC and VECC — The Tata Memorial Centre (cancer care) and the Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (accelerator physics) are research bodies; they do not form a nuclear-power generation joint venture.
- (c)HWB and BARC — The Heavy Water Board and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre are Department of Atomic Energy units for heavy-water production and research; they are not a commercial power-plant JV.
- (d)IGCAR and NTPC — The Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research is a fast-reactor research centre; the ASHVINI JV is between NPCIL and NTPC, not IGCAR. (The booklet mis-prints IGCAR as 'IGACR'.)
To expand nuclear-power capacity, the government permitted NPCIL to form joint ventures with public-sector units. ASHVINI (Anushakti Vidyut Nigam Ltd) is the NPCIL-NTPC joint venture empowered to build, own and operate nuclear plants, following the enabling amendments that let such JVs hold nuclear projects.
The answer hinges on knowing that ASHVINI marries the atomic-power operator (NPCIL) with a thermal-power giant (NTPC). The other pairs are Department of Atomic Energy research or production units (BARC, IGCAR, VECC, HWB) that do not run commercial nuclear power stations.
- ASHVINI is Anushakti Vidyut Nigam Ltd, a joint venture of NPCIL (about 51%) and NTPC (about 49%).
- Its purpose is to build, own and operate nuclear power projects such as Mahi Banswara, Rajasthan.
- NPCIL, under the Department of Atomic Energy, operates India's nuclear power reactors.
- The JV arrangement was amended in early 2025 to let ASHVINI own nuclear projects; NTPC is India's largest power utility, historically thermal, now diversifying into nuclear.
- Choosing a pair of research bodies (BARC, IGCAR) because they sound nuclear — ASHVINI is a power-generation JV (NPCIL + NTPC).
- Being thrown by the booklet's 'IGACR' typo for IGCAR.
Asked as the constituents or full form of a named nuclear-sector joint venture.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The public-sector undertaking that builds and operates India's nuclear power reactors is
- (a)NTPC
- (b)NPCIL
- (c)BHEL
- (d)SJVN
Answer(b) NPCIL — Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd.
- practice — not a real PYQ
'ASHVINI' (Anushakti Vidyut Nigam Ltd) is a joint venture between NPCIL and
- (a)ONGC
- (b)NTPC
- (c)Coal India
- (d)SAIL
Answer(b) NTPC.