Topic: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
5. India’s three-stage nuclear policy aims to address India’s energy needs and ensure its strategic autonomy; it has faced scrutiny on various fronts. Examine. (250 words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: The Hindu , Insights on India
Why this question:
On March 4, Prime Minister Narendra Modi witnessed the start of the process of core-loading the indigenous prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) at the Madras Atomic Power Station in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu. A statement from his office called the occasion “a historic milestone in India’s nuclear power programme”.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about India’s three-stage nuclear policy, its successes and limitations.
Directive word:
Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we must investigate the topic (content words) in detail, inspect it, investigate it and establish the key facts and issues related to the topic in question. While doing so we should explain why these facts and issues are important and their implications.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start with brief background of the context of the question.
Body:
First write about three-stage nuclear policy of India – describe its details and its achievements.
Next, write about the challenges in nuclear policy of India and its shortcomings – delays in implementation, and dependence on imported uranium and policy’s reliance on fast breeder reactors etc. Write about ways to fix them.
Conclusion:
Suggest way forward and conclude.
