Latest news with #NPCIL
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
BARC, NPCIL unveil India's first private test facility for depleted heavy water upgradation
New Delhi: State-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) have jointly inaugurated India's first private sector test facility for the upgradation of depleted heavy water commissioned by TEMA India, a manufacturer of specialised equipment. The facility was inaugurated by Rajesh V, director – technical, NPCIL, and K T Shenoy, director, Chemical Engineering Group, BARC. According to the official press release, the modules manufactured by the company are slated for delivery to critical nuclear power plant projects such as RAPP 8, GHAVP Units 1–4, and KAIGA Units 5 & 6. 'BARC has transferred the indigenous technology to TEMA to build the vacuum distillation columns for upgradation of depleted heavy water at its private test facility,' it added. The new testing facility will help overcome the challenge of delayed deliveries by decentralising the nuclear supply chain, ensuring quality control, and reliability in components supplied to Indian nuclear utilities to accelerate the delivery and commissioning timelines of Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWRs). The technology transfer to TEMA India is a step towards narrowing the key infrastructure gap, overcoming the delayed deliveries and de-bottlenecking of nuclear facilities. As India prepares for the big leap to leverage the indigenous PHWRs as a part of the three stage programme to reach 100 GW of installed nuclear capacity by 2047, the demand of distillation columns for depleted heavy water upgradation will increase, added the release. India is a major producer and global exporter of heavy water primarily used as coolant in nuclear reactors. Nuclear reactors are filled with heavy water at the time of construction and refueling. During the operation of nuclear reactors, it is critical to upgrade the depleted heavy water to maintain the content of Deuterium to ensure consistent and efficient supply to the nuclear reactors. The process of producing reactor-grade heavy water involves ultra-high efficiency vacuum distillation columns that are specifically designed to handle the unique challenges of separating deuterium from other isotopes in water to support the nuclear reactors through their entire lifecycle of 60-70 years. The BARC has been instrumental in developing the indigenous technology for these vacuum distillation columns, including the design of efficient structured packings and has continued to supply to NPCIL across all the PHWRs installed in India.
India.com
6 days ago
- Business
- India.com
Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Tata Group compete to finance Modi govt's mega project in..., its related to...
(File) Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, Gautam Adani's Adani Group, and the Tata Group are among some of the biggest names from the corporate world who are bidding for a central government tender to set up Bharat Small Reactors (BSRs), which aims to decarbonize high-emission industries such as steel and aluminum using nuclear power. The project is expected to attract Rs 35,000 crore in investments from the private sector, with the tender attracting bids from major players including Reliance Industries, Adani Group, Tata Group, Hindalco, the mining arm of Aditya Birla Group, Vedanta and JSW Group, Moneycontrol reported, citing government officials. As per officials, the government plans to allot the projects on a twin-unit basis, which means each unit will have two BSRs of 220 MW, the report said. Each twin unit is estimated to cost around Rs 6,000-7,000 crore, it added. 'NPCIL is planning a total of either 12 such reactors (six twin units) or 14 reactors (seven twin units). The total investments by the selected companies could range from Rs 35,000 crore to Rs 50,000 crore,' the report quoted an official as saying. What are Bharat Small Reactors or BSRs? Bharat Small Reactors (BSRs) are indigenously-developed compact 220 MW pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs), aimed at providing a sustainable, low-carbon energy solution for heavy industries like steel, aluminum, and metals, which can act as captive power plants. There is a growing global demand for small nuclear reactors due to their flexibility, scalability, and lower costs compared to conventional large setups. The Narendra Modi government plans to boost India's nuclear power capacity from 8.7 GW to 22.48 GW by 2031-32 and to 100 GW by 2047, and the deployment of BSRs is a major step towards the fulfilment of that ambitious project. Earlier this year, the government announced the National Nuclear Energy Mission during the Union Budget. An initial outlay of Rs 20,000 crore has been set aside for research and development of small reactors. How successful bidder will be incentivized? According to the report, the company which secures the project will have to finance it in entirety, which includes capital and operational expenditure. It will also be required to to reimburse NPCIL for all costs incurred across the lifecycle, from pre-project assessments to decommissioning. In return, the private firm will be granted assured long-term access to all the electricity generated through the nuclear reactors for captive use, even as the BSR units are required to built under the supervision of the NPCIL, and the state-owned company will also retain the operational control of the asset. When is the tender deadline? The tender, being executed by the state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), was first floated in January this year and deadline was set for June 30, 2025. However, the deadline was extended till September 30 upon the request of stakeholders who had sought more details about the project. Eligible bidders must have a minimum net worth of Rs 3,000 crore and an annual power requirement of at least 2,500 million units, according to the tender document.
Hindustan Times
19-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Noida: 60-year-old's phone hacked, ₹12.30 lakh stolen over ‘ ₹12 gas bill'
Cybercriminals allegedly hacked the mobile phone of a 60-year-old man on the pretext of a pending Indraprasthra Gas Limited (IGL) bill and siphoned off ₹12.30 lakh in Noida on July 11, police said on Friday, adding that a case was registered at the cybercrime branch police station. The victim, Brij Bhusan Prasad, who worked with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), lives with his family in a high-rise in Noida Sector 74, police said. (Representational image) The victim, Brij Bhusan Prasad, who worked with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), lives with his family in a high-rise in Noida Sector 74, police said. In his complaint to police, Prasad said that on July 11, he received a call. 'When I answered the call, the caller informed me that I have a pending payment of ₹12 on my IGL bill,' he said. Police said that following the conversation, the suspect sent him a link on WhatsApp and asked him to make the payment. 'When he opened the link, followed the suspect's instructions, and clicked on 'Yes', his mobile phone was hacked,' said Ranjeet Singh, station house officer, cybercrime branch. During the hack, the victim's screen display froze, making him unable to disconnect the call, police said. 'During that period, the suspect managed to divert his calls and messages and siphoned off ₹12.30 lakh from his savings bank account and credit card in multiple transactions,' said Singh. After two days, when the victim received some messages from the bank, he came to know about the fraud, police said. A case under sections 318 (cheating) and 319 (cheating by personation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the IT Act was registered on Thursday. 'Efforts are underway to identify the suspect and recover his money,' added SHO Singh, while urging people not to click on any link provided by someone over the phone or social media. An official spokesperson of IGL, requesting anonymity, said, 'We have been sensitising our customers for the past six months through WhatsApp and on social media to not click on any links provided by cybercriminals posing as IGL employees.' 'In many cases, people are threatened that their connection will be cut off by the end of the day due to a pending bill. However, IGL communicates only through official channels. People are advised to verify the authenticity before proceeding,' said the spokesperson.
Mint
08-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
IndianOil preparing new strategy for N-power, not interested in Nayara stake: Chairman Sahney
Indian Oil Corp. Ltd is preparing a new strategy to build small modular reactors (SMR) and large nuclear power plants in the country, chairman Arvinder Singh Sahney said. India's largest oil refiner and marketer is taking fresh look at nuclear diversification, Sahney said in an interview, though the company had earlier tied up with Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd (NPCIL) for the venture. He did not reveal plans for the technology partner. India's Bharat SMR (BSR) is being designed with a capacity of 200 MWe, while a smaller 55 MWe variant is also under development. However, Indian Oil did not participate in NPCIL's recent bids to set up such reactors for captive use. Indian Oil's large refineries consume as much power as produced by BSRs, Sahney said, prompting it to consider building them. "We have not participated in NPCIL's request for proposal (RFP) process, but we are looking into it in a renewed manner… It was 10 years back when we tied up with NPCIL. But now there is a renewed energy to it," he said. Indian Oil's focus on nuclear power comes at a time the government plans to set up 22 GW of nuclear power by 2032 and 100 GW by 2047, up from the current 8.7 GW. State-run major NTPC Ltd set up a subsidiary called NTPC Parmanu Urja Nigam Ltd earlier this year. With the government planning to open up the space for private players, several conglomerates and renewable energy majors are keen on this space. Last month, Mint reported that companies including Reliance Industries, Adani Group, Greenko, Vedanta, HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd, JSW Group and Hindalco Industries have responded to NPCIL's RFP to set up two units of 220-Mwe pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) BSRs. The Union budget for FY26 announced a ₹20,000-crore Nuclear Energy Mission for research and development of SMRs. The full budget for FY25 in July also proposed the government partnering with the private sector to develop SMRs, while the interim budget in February announced funding of ₹1 trillion for R&D in this space. A report by SBICAPS in April had said that although nuclear energy provides high-quality, reliable power at low operational cost, historically, these advantages have been overshadowed by concerns over safety, capital cost, and fuel supply. However, surging demand from AI data centers and crypto, coupled with its unique low-carbon baseload capability apt for thermal plant replacement, has driven a resurgence of interest. "This revival is most pronounced in China, with 30 GW of reactor capacity under development, and growing interest in India and Turkey, while Europe remains cautious," it said, adding that given the current installed base of around 8 GW and only 7 GW of the 36 GW planned capacity currently under construction, significant acceleration is required. Indian Oil is not interested in in acquiring Rosneft's stake in Nayara Energy, Sahney said in response to a query. "Its an open offer, it's in the market... I am totally not interested; so, we have totally not inquired about it," he said. In March, The Economic Times reported that Russia's state-owned energy major Nayara Energy, in which it acquired a 49.13% stake, is looking to exit the Indian venture, as due to sanctions, the Russian company has not been able to repatriate earnings from Nayara Energy in the past few years. He also said that Indian Oil and the domestic oil and gas industry are now confident of navigating any oil supply crisis situation, after smoothly handling the volatility during Israel-Iran conflict last month. He added that as India has significantly diversified its oil imports from nearly 40 countries, state-run refineries including Indian Oil's Panipat refinery are well-equipped to handle diverse crude barrels. The refining capacity of the Indian Oil group stands at 80.75 million metric tonne per annum (mmtpa), including 10.50 million tonne annual refining capacity of its subsidiary Chennai Petroleum Corp. Ltd (CPCL). It is also undertaking the expansion of its Panipat refinery from 15 mmtpa to 25 mmtpa.
The Hindu
06-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Atomic energy board grants operational licence to two home-built 700 MWe reactors in Gujarat
India's nuclear regulator, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), has granted operation licence for two indigenously developed 700 MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors at the Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) in Gujarat. The KAPS-3 reactor was commissioned at full power in August 2023, while the KAPS-4 unit followed the same month a year later. "The AERB has concluded the design and commissioning safety reviews and issued the Licence for Operation of Units 3 and 4 of KAPS, the country's first 700 MWe indigenous Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors [PHWRs]," a statement from the regulator said. Since the 700 MWe reactor was the first of its kind, the licensing process involved rigorous multi-tiered safety reviews and assessment of the reactor design, covering the entire life cycle in multiple stages from siting, construction to commissioning at full-power. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) received the Licence for Operation for KAPS 3&4 from the AERB for a period of five years on July 3. The issuance of the licence is a shot in the arm for the NPCIL, which is spearheading building 10 PHWRs of 700 MWe each in fleet mode. India has 15 PHWRs of 220 MWe and two of 540 MWe capacity operational at various sites across the country. The 540 MWe PHWR design was upgraded to 700 MWe and the first pair of such reactors are operational at Kakrapar. A similar 700 MWe reactor at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan began commercial operations in March this year. Besides the AERB, several reactor safety experts from the technical support organisations made significant contributions towards review of the design and commissioning results, which spanned almost 15 years. As a part of Phase-C commissioning, KAPS-3 received permission for full power operation in August 2023, followed by KAPS-4 in August 2024. After further review of plant performance close to rated power, the AERB has now granted the License for Operation to the NPCIL for five years.
