India’s breeder reactors and the safeguards gap – Pakistan Observer
THE Indian nuclear establishment first adopted breeder reactors as part of a three-stage nuclear program that was put forth in the 1950s as a means of expanding nuclear power using the country's limited and subpar uranium ore resources. Using uranium fuel in heavy-water reactors was the initial step in this technique. After that, the spent, radioactively contaminated fuel was reprocessed to recover plutonium. The accumulated plutonium will be used as fuel in the fast breeder reactors' cores during the second stage. A layer of either (depleted) uranium or thorium surrounded the cores to create more uranium-233 or plutonium, respectively. In the third stage, breeder reactors employ thorium in their blankets and uranium-233 in their cores. The fast breeder reactors can significantly increase plutonium production capacity.
Under a 2009 arrangement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), India lists roughly 22 civilian power reactors; eight remain outside IAEA safeguards. Indian Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) declared the sites and facilities associated with the breeder program would not be placed under IAEA safeguards. This covers the whole Kalpakkam site near Madras, which is home to 40 MWe Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) and the newly built 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).The unsafeguarded reactors reduce the transparency where India is already struggling with nuclear material theft and smuggling cases. To explain this position, the head of DAE said in an interview: "Both, from the point of view of maintaining long-term energy security and for maintaining the minimum credible deterrent, the fast breeder programme just cannot be put on the civilian list."Anil Kakodkar, Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy۔"
The separation of these facilities from safeguards created the potential for diversion of plutonium generated in the breeder reactor for military purposes. The SIPRI 2025 yearbook reveals India's expanding nuclear arsenals that has increased from 172 in 2024 to 180 in 2025. As per SIPRI report, its nuclear weapon are believed to be plutonium based. Its weapon grade plutonium stockpile by 2015 estimated to be between 0.57-0.61tonnes. The report also highlights New Delhi's design to build six fast breeder reactors and the PFBR is forerunner in this regard, that would increase the capacity to produce plutonium for weapons.
India's PFBR in Kalpakkam hailed as a milestone in nuclear energy program by IAEA, even though it operates outside its safeguards. Plutonium produced by unsafeguarded PFBR could be diverted for purposes beyond civilian use.India has history of diverting peaceful nuclear technology for nuclear weapon build up.Its nuclear weapon test also derived from exploiting the material and equipment provided by the US and Canada for the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes.To prevent the weaponization of peaceful nuclear program, the US not only banned nuclear trade but also initiated efforts for the establishment of Nuclear Supplier Group.
India has long pledged to cultivate a robust nuclear-security culture. In practice, however, repeated interdictions of illicit uranium and radiological materials suggest weaknesses across the chain, from site protection to accountancy and transport.The first documented case dates to November 1994, when police in Meghalaya's Domiasiat region arrested a four-person ring with 2.5 kilograms of uranium. Further arrests followed: in 1998, an opposition politician in West Bengal was detained for alleged involvement in a 100-kilogram uranium smuggling scheme. Since then, seizures have continued.In July 2024, five men in Dehradun were found with a "black box" reportedly containing radioactive material believed to have been stolen from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai. On August 9, 2024, Bihar police arrested a three-member group accused of attempting to traffic 50 grams of californium; four years earlier, a separate ring in Lucknow was caught with 340 grams of the same material. A steady trickle of nuclear-material thefts and trafficking cases in India has fueled concern that a black market is also taking root, an alarming lapse that threatens international peace, regional stability and confidence in global non-proliferation norms. Considering India's poor nuclear safety record, its unsafeguarded breeder reactors are concerning.
India's nuclear expansion marked by security lapses, regulatory gaps and a growing ledger of theft and trafficking cases poses a nontrivial global risk.The fast breeder reactors would intensify a nuclear arms race in South Asia. The recent escalation between Pakistan and India proved that nuclear weapons do not prevent conflict. They further increased the risk of escalation and catastrophic miscalculation, especially in a situation where misinformation is widespread. Greater IAEA engagement would help reduce the risk. The IAEA, for its part, should press for broader facility coverage, deeper inspections and stronger material accountancy standards in India's civilian sector. Expanding the scope of facility-specific safeguards, strengthening material accountancy and control and normalizing more frequent, transparent inspections especially at civilian-use sites would all reduce risk and rebuild confidence.In an era of renewed arms racing, credible safeguards and transparent enforcement are not luxuries; they are the price of keeping the most dangerous materials on earth out of the shadows.
— The writer is a Associate Director at the Centre for International Strategic Studies, AJK.
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