MAINS Current Affairs includes Nuclear Waste Management in India & PRAHAAR: National Counter-Terror Policy

Science & Technology/Energy

1. Nuclear Waste Management in India

Context: India’s expanding nuclear power programme and the increasing participation of private entities in the nuclear sector have renewed attention towards the long-term financial, regulatory and institutional responsibilities associated with radioactive-waste management.

• Unlike conventional industrial waste, radioactive waste may remain hazardous for extremely long periods, requiring specialised systems extending well beyond the operational life of a nuclear power plant.

About

• Under a conventional once-through nuclear fuel cycle, used nuclear fuel is treated as waste and is ultimately intended for permanent disposal.
• India follows a closed fuel-cycle approach, under which spent nuclear fuel is reprocessed to recover uranium and plutonium for further utilisation.
• Consequently, India treats spent fuel not merely as waste but also as a potential source of reusable nuclear material.
• Reprocessing can substantially reduce the volume of high-level waste requiring geological disposal.
• However, reprocessing does not eliminate radioactivity; radioactive residues still require safe conditioning, storage and eventual disposal.

Management of Nuclear Fuel

1. Cooling and Interim Storage

• Freshly discharged spent fuel remains highly radioactive and generates significant heat.
• It therefore requires initial storage in cooling pools, followed by appropriate longer-term storage systems.

2. Reprocessing

• Spent nuclear fuel can undergo chemical reprocessing to recover reusable materials, particularly:
  • Uranium; and
  • Plutonium.
• These recovered materials can subsequently be utilised in the nuclear fuel cycle.

3. Waste Conditioning

• Radioactive residues that cannot be reused need to be converted into stable and durable forms.
• One such approach involves vitrification, in which high-level radioactive waste is incorporated into a stable glass-like matrix for long-term storage.

4. Final Disposal

• Long-lived high-level radioactive waste ultimately requires isolation from the environment.
• The generally accepted long-term approach is disposal in a deep geological repository, designed to isolate radioactive material over very long time periods.

Geological Repository

• A deep geological repository is a specialised facility designed to isolate long-lived radioactive waste deep underground within suitable geological formations.
• It relies on multiple layers of containment and natural geological barriers to prevent radioactive material from reaching the surrounding environment.
• A geological repository differs fundamentally from an interim storage facility:
  • Interim storage: Provides controlled storage for a limited or extended period while further management decisions are undertaken.
  • Geological repository: Designed for long-term isolation and final disposal.
• India has been examining the requirement for geological disposal as part of its long-term nuclear-waste management strategy.

Need for Long-Term Waste Management

1. Intergenerational Responsibility

• Radioactive waste can remain hazardous for extremely long periods, making its management fundamentally different from ordinary industrial waste.
• Present generations therefore have a responsibility to ensure that future generations are not left with unmanaged environmental and financial liabilities.

2. Financial Uncertainty

• Nuclear-waste management and geological disposal involve substantial costs that may arise decades after a nuclear reactor begins operation.
• Without dedicated financial arrangements, these future liabilities could disproportionately fall on the government and taxpayers.

3. Institutional Continuity

• Nuclear power plants may operate for several decades, whereas radioactive-waste management and monitoring can continue for considerably longer.
• Responsibilities therefore need to remain clearly defined even when:
  • An operator changes ownership;
  • A private entity exits the sector; or
  • A nuclear facility reaches the end of its operational life.

What are the Concerns?

1. Increasing Private Participation

• India’s nuclear sector is opening up to greater private-sector participation.
• This creates a need to clearly establish responsibility across the entire nuclear fuel cycle, including spent fuel, radioactive waste, decommissioning and final disposal.

2. Public Acceptance

• Communities may resist the establishment of radioactive-waste facilities because of concerns regarding:
  • Human health;
  • Environmental safety;
  • Long-term contamination; and
  • Land-use implications.
• Public confidence and transparent consultation are therefore important for the successful implementation of long-term waste-management facilities.

3. Institutional and Regulatory Continuity

• Radioactive-waste management requires continuous monitoring, regulatory oversight and adherence to safety standards over extremely long timeframes.
• There are concerns about ensuring that institutional mechanisms remain effective throughout these periods.

4. Financial Provisioning

• Adequate financial arrangements are necessary to meet waste-management and disposal costs that may arise decades after a nuclear power plant has stopped operating.
• Clearly defined financial liability becomes particularly important with increasing participation of private operators.

Way Ahead

1. Create a Dedicated Nuclear Waste Fund

• A ring-fenced nuclear-waste management fund could be established through a levy linked to nuclear electricity generation.
• Contributions could accumulate throughout the operating life of a nuclear plant and subsequently finance:
  • Waste storage;
  • Transportation;
  • Decommissioning; and
  • Final disposal.

2. Clearly Define Operator Responsibilities

• Nuclear regulations should explicitly specify the financial and operational responsibilities of private operators for:
  • Spent fuel;
  • Radioactive waste;
  • Long-term storage; and
  • Decommissioning-related obligations.

3. Begin Early Repository Planning

• India does not necessarily need to construct a geological repository immediately.
• However, systematic planning should begin well in advance through:
  • Site identification;
  • Geological investigations;
  • Safety assessments; and
  • Meaningful public consultation.

4. Apply the Polluter-Pays Principle

• The costs associated with radioactive-waste management should be internalised into the economics of nuclear power.
• The financial burden should not be transferred disproportionately to future taxpayers or generations.

Conclusion

• India’s transition towards a larger nuclear-power programme requires waste management to be treated as an integral part of the nuclear fuel cycle, rather than as an issue to be addressed only after waste is generated.
• A combination of closed-fuel-cycle practices, safe conditioning and storage, long-term geological-disposal planning, dedicated financial provisions and clearly assigned institutional responsibilities can strengthen India’s nuclear sustainability.
• With greater private participation, establishing clear lifetime liability and accountability will be essential for maintaining public confidence and ensuring that nuclear energy remains a reliable component of India’s long-term energy security.

Internal Security

2. PRAHAAR: National Counter-Terror Policy

Context: The Union Home Minister inaugurated a conference on ‘PRAHAAR – CT Policy and Strategy’ in New Delhi.

• The conference focuses on India’s evolving counter-terrorism framework and the implementation of the national strategy.

What is PRAHAAR?

• The Ministry of Home Affairs unveiled ‘PRAHAAR’ on 23 February 2026 as India’s first comprehensive National Counter-Terrorism Policy & Strategy.
• It provides an integrated framework for addressing a broad spectrum of terrorism-related threats, including:
  • Cross-border terrorism;
  • Global extremist organisations such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS;
  • Drone-based threats;
  • Encrypted communication;
  • Cyber-attacks;
  • Crypto-based terrorist financing; and
  • CBRNED threats — Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosive and Digital threats.
• PRAHAAR follows a seven-pillar strategy centred on:
  • Intelligence-led prevention;
  • Rapid and coordinated response;
  • Capacity building;
  • Human rights and rule-of-law compliance;
  • De-radicalisation;
  • International cooperation; and
  • Societal recovery and resilience.
• Rather than establishing an entirely new institutional architecture, the policy seeks to bring existing institutions and legal mechanisms—including the NIA, NSG, UAPA and CAPFs—within a common national counter-terrorism framework.

Importance of PRAHAAR

1. First Comprehensive National Counter-Terrorism Policy

• PRAHAAR provides a unified national framework for counter-terrorism efforts across different agencies and levels of government.
• It seeks to improve coordination and establish a common strategic approach.

2. Multi-Domain Protection

• The strategy addresses threats across:
  • Land;
  • Air;
  • Water; and
• It seeks to protect critical and strategically important sectors such as:
  • Power;
  • Railways;
  • Aviation;
  • Ports;
  • Defence;
  • Space; and
  • Atomic energy.

3. Zero-Tolerance Principle

• PRAHAAR reinforces India’s position that terrorism should not be associated with or justified on the basis of religion, ethnicity or nationality.
• The focus is on countering terrorist organisations, networks, financing and enabling ecosystems.

4. Capacity Building

• The framework seeks to improve coordination and operational capabilities among:
  • Intelligence agencies;
  • Police forces; and
  • Paramilitary/Central Armed Police Forces.
• This is particularly important as terrorist threats increasingly involve cyber tools, drones and other emerging technologies.

5. Global Alignment

• PRAHAAR strengthens India’s engagement with international counter-terrorism mechanisms.
• It can support greater cooperation on issues such as terror financing, intelligence sharing, arms trafficking and extremist propaganda.

Emerging Challenges and Concerns of India’s Counter-Terror Architecture

1. Cross-Border Terrorism

• India continues to face the challenge of cross-border infiltration and support to terrorist groups, including alleged state-backed networks operating from neighbouring regions.

2. Cyber-Enabled Threats

• Nation-states and criminal groups can target India’s digital infrastructure and critical information systems.
• Dark-web platforms can facilitate anonymous transactions involving:
  • Weapons;
  • Explosives; and
  • Stolen data.
• This creates additional difficulties for intelligence agencies in tracking terrorist and criminal networks.

3. Drone Warfare

• Terrorist and criminal networks increasingly use drones for smuggling arms, ammunition and explosives.
• Border areas, particularly in Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir, face growing challenges from such drone-enabled activities.

4. Organised Crime–Terror Nexus

• Terrorist organisations may collaborate with organised criminal networks for:
  • Logistics;
  • Financing;
  • Weapons procurement; and
• The convergence of terrorism and organised crime therefore requires coordinated investigation and intelligence mechanisms.

5. Radicalisation

• Online propaganda and sleeper networks associated with extremist organisations such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS can be used to encourage radicalisation and violence.
• Security agencies have also raised concerns about the use of AI-generated propaganda and automated bot networks in online radicalisation campaigns.

6. Limited Specialised Counter-Terrorism Training

• Several police forces continue to face shortages in specialised capabilities relating to:
  • Cyber intelligence;
  • Drone detection;
  • Digital surveillance; and
  • Advanced technological investigation.
• Differences in State-level capabilities can create gaps in India’s overall counter-terrorism preparedness.

Way Ahead

1. Strengthen Intelligence Integration

• Establish stronger real-time information-sharing mechanisms between Central and State agencies.
• Improve interoperability between intelligence, police and investigative databases.

2. Upgrade Cyber Defence

• Invest in AI-enabled monitoring and threat-detection systems.
• Develop indigenous cybersecurity capabilities to protect critical digital infrastructure.

3. Strengthen Counter-Drone Capabilities

• Expand deployment of anti-drone technologies.
• Combine technological countermeasures with stronger border surveillance and intelligence networks.

4. Build Community Resilience

• Develop awareness and prevention programmes to counter online radicalisation and extremist narratives.
• Encourage participation of civil society and local governance institutions in community-level prevention efforts.

5. Deepen International Cooperation

• Strengthen cooperation with the United Nations and international partners against:
  • Terror financing;
  • Arms smuggling;
  • Cross-border networks; and
  • Extremist propaganda.

6. Update Legal Frameworks

• Periodically review and update anti-terror legislation to address emerging technological threats.
• At the same time, ensure appropriate judicial oversight, due process and constitutional safeguards.

7. Strengthen Victim Support

• Institutionalise comprehensive systems for rehabilitation, compensation and long-term support for victims of terrorism.

Conclusion

• PRAHAAR represents India’s first comprehensive institutional framework for counter-terrorism, combining prevention, proportionate response, capacity building, international cooperation and societal resilience.
• Its effectiveness will depend substantially on implementation at the grassroots and State levels through:
  • Clear State-specific guidelines;
  • Capacity building of police and ATS units;
  • Effective intelligence sharing;
  • Inter-agency coordination; and
  • Community engagement.
• Continuous monitoring will also be necessary to ensure that socio-economic interventions and whole-of-society measures are effectively integrated into India’s broader counter-terrorism planning.

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