In India, why are some nuclear reactors kept under “IAEA Safeguards” w

In India, why are some nuclear reactors kept under “IAEA Safeguards” while others are not ?

Some use uranium and others use thorium
Some use imported uranium and others use domestic supplies
Some are operated by foreign enterprises and others are operated by domestic enterprises
Some are State-owned and others are privately-owned
This question was previously asked in
UPSC IAS – 2020
The reason some nuclear reactors in India are under IAEA Safeguards while others are not stems from India’s nuclear policy and its separation plan agreed upon with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and countries like the US.
– India maintains a distinction between its civilian and military nuclear facilities. Under the India-US civil nuclear agreement and India’s voluntary separation plan, civilian nuclear facilities are placed under IAEA safeguards. Military facilities are kept outside safeguards.
– Access to international nuclear trade, including the import of uranium fuel, is permitted only for the safeguarded civilian facilities. Consequently, reactors using imported uranium must be under IAEA safeguards. Reactors that are not under safeguards are designated for military purposes and therefore use only domestically produced nuclear material.
– Thus, the use of imported uranium is a direct consequence of a facility being designated as civilian and placed under safeguards, and facilities not under safeguards rely on domestic supplies. Option B captures this practical distinction: Some reactors (civilian, safeguarded) use imported uranium, while others (military, not safeguarded) use domestic supplies.
India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a nuclear weapon state. However, through its separation plan and additional protocols with the IAEA, it allows safeguards on its civilian nuclear program in exchange for access to international nuclear fuel and technology, enabling it to expand its nuclear power capacity.
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