India is an important member of the ‘International Thermonuclear Exper

India is an important member of the ‘International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor’. If this experiment succeeds, what is the immediate advantage for India?

It can use thorium in place of uranium for power generation
It can attain a global role in satellite navigation
It can drastically improve the efficiency of its fission reactors in power generation
It can build fusion reactors for power generation
This question was previously asked in
UPSC IAS – 2016
The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is a project aimed at demonstrating the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power on an industrial scale. Fusion is the process that powers the sun, where atomic nuclei combine to form heavier nuclei, releasing vast amounts of energy. If ITER succeeds, it would pave the way for building commercial fusion power plants. For India, as a member of ITER, the immediate advantage would be the acquired knowledge and technology enabling it to build its own fusion reactors for power generation.
ITER is a global collaborative project to build the world’s largest tokamak fusion device and prove the potential of fusion as a sustainable energy source.
ITER is being built in Cadarache, France. Its members are the European Union (as a single entity), China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United States. Fusion energy is seen as a potential clean and virtually limitless energy source for the future, unlike nuclear fission which produces radioactive waste and uses finite resources like uranium.