RADIATING CHANGE

The government’s decision to build a reactor in PPP mode to produce medical isotopes promises to be a game-changer in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other diseases

- RAJ CHENGAPPA

INDIA’S MAMMOTH DEPARTMENT of Atomic Energy (DAE) has played a seminal role in enhancing the country’s security by fortifying our armed forces with atom bombs to deter any enemy planning a nuclear strike against us. However, in more recent years, it is for its work on peaceful uses of atomic energy that the department has gained prominence, especially after the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal was signed in 2008. India now has 22 nuclear power plants operating across the country with an installed capacity of 6,780 MW, which accounts for 2 per cent of the country’s total capacity. What is little known, though, is its contribution to the rapidly growing radiopharmaceutical industry. Simply put, this sector uses radioisotopes produced by atomic research reactors and cyclotrons for both diagnosis and treatment of cancer, heart diseases and a host of other ailments. India, though a significant nuclear power, still imports a substantial amount of medical isotopes. A similar tale bedevils the medical and food irradiation business in which the DAE had developed the capability as far back as 1974. Though over 20 establishments, both public and private, have come up since then, the sector has barely reached half its potential. Clearly, there was a need for radical reforms to boost these two sectors.

THE REFORMS