The Kundankulam nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu.
With Kudankulam unit 2 likely to become operational during this financial year, the government has allocated Rs 10,446 crore to the Department of Atomic Energy for power generation and research.
For power generation, Rs 1709 crore has been allocated to the department. This includes Rs 30 crore for India's first Prototype Bast Breeder reactor at Kalpakkam at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR).
The government also intends to invest Rs 203 crore and Rs 440 crore in NPCIL and Bhartiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd (BHAVINI), two PSUs under DAE.
Rs 8737 crore has been allocated for research in the field of nuclear energy. There are several research centres under the DAE, major being Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology and IGCAR and Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMDER).
The allocation also includes provisions for projects such as survey, prospecting, and exploration by AMDER and setting up a Centre for Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership in Haryana.
In last budget, the department had been allocated Rs 8,449 crore for Atomic Energy Research, but it was revised to Rs 6,969 crore.
For research in the field of Earth Science, Ocean activities and Meteorology, the Ministry of Earth Science has been alloted Rs 1699 crore.
In the field of Ocean Research, the government has alloted Rs 629 crore, Rs 661 for Meteorology and Rs 380 crore for other earth science related projects. This also includes ambitious projects like procuring new vessels for ocean research, studying seismological patterns and polar sciences.
The government also hinted at laying more focus on genetic engineering and biotechnology.
"The nascent agri-biotech cluster in Mohali will be scaled up to include plant-genetic and phenotype platforms.
Secondary agriculture will be a major thrust in Mohali through collaborations in the public and private sector. In addition, two new clusters, in Pune and Kolkata, will be established," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in his Budget speech.
"Global partnerships will be developed under India's leadership to transform the Delhi component of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology into a world-leader in life sciences and biotechnology," he said.
A sum of Rs 8,768 crore has been alloted to the Ministry of Science and Technology, of which Rs 3,544 crore has been alloted to the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Rs 3,707 to Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Rs 1,517 to the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
In the last budget, the DST had been allocated Rs 3,184 crore, but it was later revised to Rs 2,605 crore while the CSIR had been allocated Rs 3,571 crore, but was later revised to Rs 3,178 crore.
The DBT had been allocated Rs 1,502 crore, but it was revised to Rs 1,315 crore.