Natural gas has emerged as an important source of commercial energy in view of large reserves that have been established in the country particularly in South Bassein of west coast of India. Gas authority of India Limited was incorporated in 1984 for processing, transporting, distributing, and marketing of natural gas. Presently it operates over 8700 km of pipelines in the country and supplies gas to power plants for generation of about 5000 MW of power and to fertiliser sector for production of over 10 million tonnes of urea. It supplies gas to about 500 industrial units located in different parts of the country. The recent discoveries of gas resources in Krishna-Godavari basin, other coast of Andhra Pradesh and in the Barmer district of Rajasthan have enabled India to be a major producer of gas.
Nuclear Energy Resources
Although nuclear power contributes only 3.0% of our total power generation at present, it has vast potential for future development. India is one of the six countries, including the USA, Russia, UK, France and Canada, which have developed the capability of designing, constructing, commissioning and operating a nuclear power station without any help from outside.
Nuclear Power Plants in India
| Power Station | Unit | Year of Commissioning | Capacity (mw) | ||
| 1. | Tatapur (Maharashtra) | First-Second | 1969 1970 | 160 | |
| 2. | Rawatbhata (Rajasthan) | First-Second | 1972 1981 | 200 200 | |
| 3. | Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu) | First-Second | 1984 1986 | 235 235 | |
| 4. | Narora (U.P.) | First-Second | 1989 1991 | 235 235 | |
| 5. | Kakrapara (Gujarat) | First-Second | 1993 1995 | 235 235 | |
| 6. | Kaiga (Karnataka) | First-Second | 1993 1995 | 235 235 | |
| 7. | Rawatbhata, Kota (Rajasthan) | d Fourth | 235 235 | ||
| 8. | Tarapur (Maharashtra) | d Fourth | 500 500 | ||
| 9. | Kaiga (Karnataka) | d Fourth and Fih | 235 (each) | ||
| 10. | Rawatbhata (Rajasthan) | Sixth, Seventh and Eighth | 500 (each) | ||
| 11. | Kundakulam | First and Second | 1000 (each) | ||
Most of the nuclear power stations in India have been constructed near sources of water because it is required in large quantity for cooling purposes.
Nuclear power programme was initiated in 1940s when ‘Tata Atomic Research Commission’ was incorporated in August, 1948. However, the real progress was made only after the establishment of the Atomic Energy Institution at Trombay in 1954. is was renamed as the ‘Bhabha Atomic Research Centre’ (BARC) in 1967. The first nuclear power station with 320 MW capacity was set up at Tarapur near Mumbai in 1969. At present nuclear energy is produced from 11 units located at 7 centres as listed in the following table.