Recent Current Affairs related to Nuclear

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has visited France to strengthen the strategic partnership and promote economic cooperation between the two nations.

She co-chaired the France Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) at Aix-en-Provence with Roland Lescure, the Minister of France. They committed to using the EFD as a key platform for addressing issues, and agreed to explore conducting the next edition of the dialogue in 2027.

Both nations agreed to enhance cooperation on critical minerals to ensure resilient supply chains. During her visit, she also toured the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project at Cadarache to reinforce scientific and technological cooperation between India and France.

The IIT Hyderabad will establish the Centre for Design and Engineering in Nuclear Energy (CODENE), which will be the first Centre of Design Excellence in Nuclear Engineering in India.

The centre is being established under a tripartite MoU signed between IIT, Coastal Engineering and Equipments (India) Pvt Ltd (CEEPL India), and France-based Dassault Systemes SE during the ‘Bharat Innovates 2026’.

According to the “SIPRI Yearbook 2026: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security” released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), global military expenditure surged to $2.9 trillion in 2025. The USA remained the world’s largest military spender with an expenditure of $954 billion, followed by China and Russia.

India ranked as the world’s 5th largest military spender in 2025, with a defence expenditure of $92.1 billion, representing an 8.9% increase compared to 2024. Furthermore, the nuclear arsenal of India increased to 190 warheads as of January 2026.

The Maharashtra government has signed MoUs with four key companies, namely NTPC Ltd (NTPC), Adani Power Ltd (APL), Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), and Lalitpur Power Generation Company Ltd (LPGCL), in Mumbai to attract investments worth ₹6.5 lakh crore for the development of nuclear energy projects.

These projects are projected to establish a total power generation capacity of 25,400 megawatts (MW).

India has successfully test-fired the Agni-1 missile from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha. The test was conducted under the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) to validate all operational and technical parameters of the system.

Agni-1 is an indigenous, single-stage, surface-to-surface Short Range Ballistic Missile (SRBM) powered by solid propellants. Designed for rapid deployment via road or rail mobile launchers, the missile has an operational strike range of 700-900 km and is capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear warheads.

Russia has successfully test-fired the RS-28 Sarmat Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin termed the newly launched Sarmat as the world’s most powerful missile system. The missile, designated as ‘Satan II’ by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), is set to replace 40 Soviet-built R-36M2 Voyevoda missiles.

India has successfully conducted the second flight trial of the Agni-5 missile, integrated with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology.

The test, designated as “Mission Divyastra”, was carried out from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast. It is to be noted that Agni-5 is a nuclear-capable ballistic missile with a strike range exceeding 5,000 km.

NLC India Ltd (NLCIL) has signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with the France-based Electricite de France (EDF) to explore the development of nuclear power projects in India.

The collaboration focuses on the use of European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) and Small Modular Reactor (SMR) technologies. The EPR is a third-generation Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) developed by Framatome and EDF, featuring advanced safety and efficiency. It is to be noted that NLCIL aims to achieve a total power generation capacity of 20 GW by 2030.

The United States has launched a strategic plan to deploy nuclear reactors in space, including an in-space reactor in Earth orbit by 2028, a fission reactor on the lunar surface by 2030, and a military version by 2031.

It is to be noted that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is tasked to develop a mid-power 100 kilowatts (kWe) fission reactor to support lunar habitats, providing power equivalent to 80 homes on Earth.

National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has signed a non-binding MoU with the France-based Electricite de France (EDF) to collaborate on developing new nuclear power projects in India.

This partnership marks a strategic shift for NTPC, the largest thermal power producer in India, to diversify its energy portfolio. The company aims to achieve a nuclear capacity of 30 GW by 2047.