Which of the following atomic power stations had the highest installed capacity in India in the year 2024 ?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — D, Kudankulam. The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, has two operating Russian-supplied VVER-1000 pressurised water reactors of 1,000 MW each — 2,000 MW, the largest installed capacity at any single nuclear station in India in 2024. Four further 1,000 MW units are under construction at the same site, which will eventually take it to 6,000 MW.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Second largest in 2024 at 1,840 MW — two 220 MW PHWRs plus India's first two indigenous 700 MWe PHWRs (KAPS-3 commercial from June 2023, KAPS-4 from March 2024). Still short of Kudankulam's 2,000 MW.  (b) Four 220 MW PHWRs in Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka — 880 MW in all. Kaiga is celebrated for Unit-1's world record of 962 days of continuous operation, not for size.  (c) The Madras Atomic Power Station has two 220 MW PHWRs — 440 MW, the smallest of the four. Kalpakkam matters for the fast-breeder programme (the PFBR), not for installed capacity.

Concept: India's commercial nuclear fleet is operated by NPCIL and is dominated by indigenous pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) of 220 MW and, more recently, 700 MWe. The only large light-water reactors are the Russian VVER-1000 units at Kudankulam, built under a 1988 Indo-Soviet agreement. Because each Kudankulam unit is 1,000 MW, that station leads on installed capacity even though other sites have more reactors. In 2024 India's total nuclear capacity was about 8.2 GW from 24 reactors — under 3% of the country's electricity generation.

State PCS 2025 Q19 — Science & Technology PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2025 Q19 — Science & Technology PYQ with Answer