Bhubaneswar: Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo, a five-term BJP MP from Balangir in Odisha, reiterated India’s commitment to the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear science and technology while leading the Indian parliamentary delegation at the 81st session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
During discussions on the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), she highlighted the agency’s role in advancing sustainable development by assisting member states in building human and institutional capabilities, including regulatory frameworks for peaceful applications of nuclear technology.
Singh Deo also outlined India’s significant progress in nuclear technology and reiterated continued support for the IAEA’s Technical Cooperation Programme and flagship initiatives. Emphasising South-South cooperation, she stressed that the benefits of nuclear science and technology should reach every country seeking them, supported by strong nuclear safety and security frameworks.
India assumed the chairmanship of the 22-member Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training related to Nuclear Science and Technology (RCA) under the IAEA in May 2026, pledging to strengthen collaborative pathways among member states through science, innovation and shared progress.
She described this as a reaffirmation of India’s commitment to ensuring nuclear science benefits reach nations that seek them, positioning India as “Vishwa Bandhu” or Friend to the World.
Singh Deo pointed to concrete achievements, including the indigenous 500-megawatt Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam achieving criticality in April 2026, making India only the second country to do so, and the reactor’s demonstration of heat-based hydrogen production in June, described as a global first. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited generated 55,190 million units of electricity in the previous year with an 80 per cent plant load factor and an impeccable safety record.
As an example of neighbourhood-first policy, she cited specialised cancer-care training by Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Centre (under the Department of Atomic Energy) for healthcare professionals from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar under the BIMSTEC framework.
