India's first nuclear research reactor, APSARA was inaugurated
on January 20, 1957
• India's first nuclear research reactor, APSARA was commissioned by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) on August 4, 1956.
• It was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, on January 20, 1957.
• APSARA was the first nuclear research reactor in India and also Asia.
• Its design was conceptualized by Dr. Homi Bhabha, the Father of the Indian nuclear programme, in 1955.
• The reactor was built with assistance from the United Kingdom who provided the initial fuel.
• APSARA was a pool-type reactor and used 80% enriched uranium fuel.
• With the commissioning of this reactor, India started producing radioisotopes
• Radioisotopes have found many applications in the field of medical diagnosis and therapy, sterilization of medical products, pipeline inspection, food preservation and so on.
• Nuclear reactors are the heart of a nuclear power plant.
• They contain and control nuclear chain reactions that produce heat through a physical process called fission.
• That heat is used to make steam that spins a turbine to create electricity.
