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Two Rajya Sabha replies cover DAE's peaceful nuclear applications: BARC-produced radioisotopes/radiopharmaceuticals (supplied via BRIT) for cancer diagnosis/therapy — including 177Lu-PSMA-617 for prostate cancer and the '90Y-BhabhaSphere' for liver cancer — and 72 radiation-bred crop varieties released for commercial cultivation since inception.
42 food irradiation facilities are commissioned nationally; radiation processing extends shelf life and helps meet export phytosanitary norms, with new incentives under PMKSY's Integrated Cold Chain component from 2024-25.
Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), under DAE, has commissioned three new Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospitals (Chandigarh 2022, Visakhapatnam 2023, Muzaffarpur 2025) in the last five years, with three more under construction (Mumbai Platinum Jubilee Block, Khopoli ICTREC, Bhubaneswar).
DAE's premier nuclear R&D institution; produces radioisotopes/radiopharmaceuticals and develops nuclear-medicine ligands
DAE's industrial/commercial arm supplying radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals to nuclear medicine centres across India
Comprehensive cancer-care institution under DAE's administrative control; national leadership in cancer policy, education and research
DAE develops improved crop varieties by exposing seeds/plant material to radiation to induce random genetic mutations, then selecting and cross-breeding plants with desirable traits (higher yield, drought/salinity tolerance, disease resistance) — a technique distinct from genetic engineering, since it does not insert foreign genes. Varieties are released for cultivation jointly with ICAR and State Agricultural Universities.
Simple Analogy: It speeds up the natural process of random genetic variation that breeders would otherwise wait generations to see, then selects the useful results
GS Paper 3 > Science & Technology > Nuclear Applications, Agriculture
With reference to agriculture in India, how can the technique of 'genome sequencing' be used in the immediate future? 1. Genome sequencing can be used to identify genetic markers for disease resistance and drought tolerance in various crop plants. 2. This technique helps in reducing the time required to develop new varieties of crop plants. 3. It can be used to decipher host-pathogen relationships in crops. Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Answer: 1, 2 and 3
In India, the use of carbofuran, methyl parathion, phorate and triazophos is viewed with apprehension. These chemicals are used as
Answer: pesticides in agriculture
Moderate — nuclear medicine/agriculture applications recur periodically in PIB science releases
Indigenous 90Y glass-microsphere product developed jointly by BARC and TMC for liver-cancer radio-embolisation, an alternative to imported microspheres
Crop-improvement technique using radiation to induce genetic mutation, followed by selection/cross-breeding — distinct from genetic engineering