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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Wednesday inspect the world's most advanced fusion energy nuclear reactor in Cadarache in southern France, where the world's best scientists have gathered to create a "miniature Sun" on Earth.
The Prime Minister is on a three-day visit to France from Monday.
Named the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) or "The Way", the project seeks to provide the world an unlimited supply of clean energy and costs over Euro 22 billion. It is an unprecedented collaboration of seven nations - the US, Russia, South Korea, Japan, China, India and the European Union (EU), all of whom aim to create "Aditya on Prithvi".
The project has "Made In India" written all over it, and seeks to harness "Mitra on Dharti". By committing Rs 17,500 crores - about 10% of the cost, India will get 100% access to the technology. This is the most expensive mega-science effort India is participating in and globally, ITER is the most expensive science project to be undertaken in the 21st century on Earth.
India has also contributed the biggest component in the project - the world's largest refrigerator that houses this unique reactor, was made in Gujarat by Larsen & Toubro. It weighs over 3,800 tonnes and is almost half the height of the Qutub Minar. The total weight of the ITER reactor will be about 28,000 tonnes.
Besides, India has also contributed "in-kind" material manufactured by the Indian industry.
The Sun is a natural fusion energy cauldron and life on Earth would be impossible if solar energy came to a halt. There is a joke among scientists which says when will fusion energy be harnessed, and the timeline has always been after two decades since the 1980's.
The mega endeavour is to demonstrate the steps to harvest fusion energy, that is, generating energy by fusing atoms. Traditional atomic energy works by splitting atoms and it generates long lasting radioactive waste. But by fusing hydrogen and its sisters, the waste product is a benign Helium gas. The Sun generates its energy by fusing atoms and today, when the climate crisis is bearing upon us, the search for a clean, carbon-free source of energy has become more important than ever. But creating the Sun is easier said than done.
Since a massive reactor is being made at Cadarache in Europe, the European Union is taking care of 45% of the construction cost, and the rest of the member nations are sharing 9.1% of the cost each.
There are over a million different parts which will be sourced from over 45 countries and it is now estimated that by 2035, the ITER machine will be ready for its first full experimental run.
There is one concern with India's involvement in ITER - the dismal allocation of human resources by India at the site. As per an agreement, each participating country can provide up to 10% of the staff. Thus, India can send about 100 of its engineers and scientists to work as staff at ITER.
Records showed that only 25 to 30 Indians are currently working at the site. To have a full staff strength is important so that young Indian engineers can learn the complexities of this million piece jigsaw puzzle that is being put together. While India will no doubt have full access to drawings and blueprints, Indians who have worked on the site say the best learning comes by dirtying one's hands.
By not meeting the staff strength, India has given an opportunity to countries like China to have excess staffing. There are several reasons behind the understaffing, most of them related to myopic policies of the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT). There is a general circular that states that government staff cannot be posted overseas for more than two years and for experts from autonomous institutes, for terms not exceeding five years. For a project that has a gestation of over two decades, such short tenures are counter-productive.
India's bureaucracy needs to make an exception and the one-size-fits-all-regulation needs to go if India really wants to learn the art and science of making the ITER machine.