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A Bhabha Atomic Research Centre team carried out a five-day site assessment in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands from 4 to 8 September 2026 for the possible deployment of Small Modular Reactors.
The assessment covered sites across all three districts of the Union Territory, which today runs almost entirely on diesel generator sets fuelled from the mainland.
The BARC team called on Lieutenant Governor Admiral D.K. Joshi on 4 September and presented the potential sites and features of the plan.
The demand driver is the Great Nicobar Project, which includes an International Container Transhipment Terminal and a greenfield international airport at Galathea Bay.
The Union Budget 2025-26 announced a Nuclear Energy Mission for Viksit Bharat with Rs 20,000 crore for SMR research, targeting at least five indigenously designed operational SMRs by 2033.
A nuclear reactor of small output whose components are factory-built as modules and assembled on site. Small size and modular build cut construction time and land requirement, which makes SMRs suitable for remote locations and islands where a large conventional plant is impractical.
Simple Analogy: A power station shipped in as flat-pack modules instead of built brick by brick.
Announced in the Union Budget 2025-26 to make nuclear power a major energy source and support India's target of 100 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047.
Key: Outlay of Rs 20,000 crore for research and development of Small Modular Reactors, with at least five indigenously designed SMRs targeted to be operational by 2033.
Deploy 220 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors of proven design, reconfigured for a smaller footprint, as captive power for energy-intensive industry.
Key: Aimed at decarbonising sectors such as steel, aluminium and metals through plant-side nuclear power.
Bring private and international partners into nuclear power development, announced in the Union Budget speech of 23 July 2024.
Key: Requires amendments to the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.
Develop Great Nicobar Island as a maritime and logistics hub with a township, airport and transhipment port.
Key: International Container Transhipment Terminal and a greenfield international airport at Galathea Bay, spread over about 16,610 hectares; its electricity demand is what makes an island nuclear option worth assessing.
India's premier nuclear research institution; carried out the island site assessment. Founded in 1954 as the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay and renamed after Homi J. Bhabha in 1967.
Parent department for India's nuclear programme, under the direct charge of the Prime Minister; BARC functions under it.
Coordinates development planning for India's islands; the Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands serves as its Vice-Chairman.
The safety regulator that must license any nuclear installation in India, including siting approval for a reactor.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a Union Territory in the Bay of Bengal with three districts and their capital at Port Blair. Great Nicobar is the southernmost island; Indira Point on it is India's southernmost land point, and Galathea Bay on its coast is the site of the proposed transhipment terminal. The Ten Degree Channel separates the Andaman group from the Nicobar group, and the archipelago lies close to the northern approaches of the Strait of Malacca, which links the Andaman Sea and the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea.
GS Paper 3 > Science and Technology > Nuclear energy; Infrastructure and energy security
General Awareness > Science and Technology, and Indian geography
The "Cellular Jail", also known as Kala Pani, is located in which state/UT?
Answer: Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Which one of the following pairs of islands is separated from each other by the 'Ten Degree Channel'?
Answer: Andaman and Nicobar
Which of the following is geographically closest to Great Nicobar?
Answer: Sumatra
A nuclear reactor of small output built from factory-made modules, needing less land and shorter construction time than a conventional plant.
A 220 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor of proven Indian design, reconfigured for a smaller footprint and captive industrial use.
A bay on Great Nicobar Island, the proposed site of the International Container Transhipment Terminal under the Great Nicobar Project.