SSC
The Kakrapar Atomic Power Station is located in which state?
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option A — Gujarat
Detailed Solution
The Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) is located near Vyara in the Tapi district of south Gujarat. It draws cooling water from the Moticher lake, linked to the Kakrapar weir on the Tapi river.
Key facts about Kakrapar:
Units 1 and 2 are 220 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs). They began commercial operation in 1993 and 1995.
Units 3 and 4 are 700 MWe PHWRs, the first reactors of this size designed and built in India. Unit 3 reached criticality in July 2020 and became the first indigenous 700 MWe reactor to start commercial operation (in 2023); Unit 4 followed.
The station is operated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), a public sector company under the Department of Atomic Energy.
Kakrapar Unit 1 was noted for a long continuous run of operation and for its safety record.
Major nuclear power stations of India:
- Tarapur (Maharashtra): India's first nuclear power station, which began operating in 1969 with boiling water reactors supplied by the USA.
- Rawatbhata (Rajasthan Atomic Power Station), near Kota.
- Kalpakkam (Madras Atomic Power Station, Tamil Nadu), which also has the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor.
- Narora (Uttar Pradesh), on the Ganga.
- Kaiga (Karnataka).
- Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu): India's largest nuclear power station, built with Russian cooperation, with 1,000 MWe pressurised water reactors.
- Projects under construction or planned include Gorakhpur (Haryana), Mahi Banswara (Rajasthan) and Jaitapur (Maharashtra).
India's three-stage nuclear programme:
- Stage 1: Pressurised heavy water reactors.
- Stage 2: Fast breeder reactors.
- Stage 3: Thorium-based reactors.
Nuclear power in India:
- Nuclear energy provides about 3 per cent of India's electricity.
- India aims to expand nuclear capacity significantly over the coming decades, including through small modular reactors.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Maharashtra has the Tarapur station.
- ✗Tamil Nadu has the Kalpakkam and Kudankulam stations.
- ✗Haryana has the Gorakhpur project, under construction near Fatehabad.
Quick tip
Remember: Kakrapar (Tapi district, Gujarat) = first indigenous 700 MWe PHWR; Tarapur (Maharashtra) = India's first nuclear plant (1969); Kudankulam (TN) = largest.
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Minerals & Energy Resources — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Minerals & Energy Resources, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers India's mineral resources (iron ore, manganese, bauxite, copper, mica and others) and energy resources (coal, petroleum, natural gas, nuclear power and renewable energy), with their main producing regions, mines, oil fields and power plants. Questions often ask where a mineral is found, which state is the leading producer, or where an important power plant or oil field is located. For example, Jharia is known for coal, Digboi in Assam is the oldest oil field in India, and Tarapur in Maharashtra is the site of India's first nuclear power plant. Practise the minerals and energy resources questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.