The Hyderabad-based Nuclear Fuel Complex, which produces fuel for nuclear reactors in the country, has produced over 30 percent more fuel compared to its 961.023 MT production in 2013-14, says The Hindu. The record manufacture of 1252 MT of uranium bundles has exceeded the country’s annual fuel requirement for its Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors.
N. Saibaba, chief engineer of Nuclear Fuel Complex, credited this achievement to the effort of the staff, as also to “changes in almost all the manufacturing processes, which saved on time.”
This milestone will go a long way toward increasing the performance of the nuclear reactors in the country which for all these years had been “under- performing”, primarily because of lack of fuel.
Nuclear fuel production in India has seen a steady increase over the last seven years. A lot has been attributed to the Indo-U.S. nuclear agreement and the subsequent ones with Nuclear Suppliers Group that made the process of acquiring uranium simpler.
