Homi Jahangir Bhabha was a key advocate of scientific research and instrumental in the establishment of several scientific research institutions in the country. His contributions to the development of nuclear program of India include:

• He conceived the nuclear program of India and is known as the father of the Indian nuclear program.
• The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), which is renowned for research in fundamental sciences, including nuclear, was established by him.
• He established the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET) to intensify the efforts to exploit nuclear energy for the benefit of the nation as a multidisciplinary research institute.
• In his commemoration, the institute was renamed as Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in 1966.
• First nuclear reactor in India, Apsara, was developed under the guidance of Dr. Bhabha.
• He pushed India towards self-reliance not only in nuclear technology but also in building in terms of skilled manpower.

In recent times, the world, including India, has been looking at sustainable sources of energy without compromising development. In this regard, various arguments favor prioritization of nuclear energy:

• Cleaner source of energy: Nuclear energy produces almost no CO₂ during power generation which is primarily responsible for global warming and climate change.
• Abundance of Thorium: India has the third largest proven reserves of thorium in the world. India’s three-stage closed cycle nuclear power program aims to harness this potential.
• Reduced import bill: India meets 80% of its energy needs through imports. An increased share of nuclear power in the energy mix can reduce India’s import dependency.
• Stable source of power: Unlike solar, wind, and hydroelectric powers, nuclear power production is not susceptible to daily and seasonal variations.
• Low life cycle costs: Despite higher capital and technological inputs in setting up, the cost per unit nuclear energy becomes comparable to other sources over their life cycle.
• Spin-off benefits: Being a highly specialized industry, it supports the development of high technology sectors of the economy as its technologies and by-products find application in other areas.

However, at the same time, there are several challenges in developing large nuclear energy development capacity in the country:

• Vulnerability to disasters compromises their safety leading to huge human and environmental losses as seen at Fukushima in Japan. These risks are significantly higher than other energy sources.
• Highly capital and technology-intensive makes it difficult to set up in a developing country like India with scarce resources. India has been able to complete the first stage of the program but the second stage of the program involving the development of Fast Breeder Reactors has been too slow.
• Commercialization and enhanced use of renewable energy technologies have decreased their per unit cost to almost half of that of nuclear energy.
• In the foreseeable future, India’s reliance on coal, the most easily available and abundant source of energy, will continue as India seeks to achieve a better quality of life for its citizens and higher industrialization.

Currently, nuclear energy is contributing only 1.8 percent to the total energy mix. Despite the obvious economic and social arguments against nuclear power, it is still extremely critical for India, given its strategic and security imperatives.