The Thorium Gamble: India’s Nuclear Breakthrough

In this episode of Beyond the Indus, Dr. Anil Kakodkar, former chairman of India's Atomic Energy Commission and one of the principal architects of India’s civilian nuclear program, joins us to discuss the history and future of India’s three-stage nuclear program in the wake of this year’s landmark breakthrough at Kalpakkam. We discuss the strategic logic behind Homi Bhabha’s 1950s vision for a thorium-based path to energy independence, the science and engineering challenges of fast breeder reactor technology, India’s decades of nuclear isolation, the safety record of nuclear power and how public perceptions have been shaped by Chernobyl and Fukushima, and the role of nuclear energy as a complement to renewables in the global push for net zero. Dr. Kakodkar also makes the case that India’s thorium fuel cycle represents a proliferation-resistant model for meeting the world's long-term energy needs.