Energy situation in India - Present situation, future outlook and outlook for nuclear power

India, with its population of approx. 900 million in 1994, is one of the most populous countries in the earth. Its population is estimated to rise to 1.888 billion by 2030. Immense economic efforts are required to supply this population; they can be made only on the basis of an ambitious program in energy policy and power economy. In the period between 1950 and 1994, the installed generating capacity was increased from 2.3 to 86.9 GW, and the generation of electricity rose from 6.6 to 355.6 TWh. Nine nuclear generating units with and installed power of 2035 MWe are in operation in India; in 1994, they converted an aggregate 4968 GWh of nuclear power into electric power. The installed power of nuclear generating units is to be increased to 60,000 MWe by 2020. At present, five units are under construction with 1175 MWe; of these, Kakrapar-2 is in its commissioning phase. So far, mainly heavy water moderated pressure tube reactors of the Canadian Candu type with an installed power of 235 MWe have been operated. Tarapur has two boiling water reactors of 210 MWe each. Twelve Candu units of 500 MWe power each and two pressurized water reactors of the Russian VVER-1000 type are in the planning stage.