Parliament Question: Domestic Self-Sufficiency in Critical Medical Radioisotope Supply

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 4070 ANSWERED ON 12/08/2026 DOMESTIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY IN CRITICAL MEDICAL RADIOISOTOPE SUPPLY 4070. SHRI RADHAKRISHNA Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:- (a) the details of domestic production capacity and actual output of critical medical radioisotopes such as Molybdenum-99/Technetium-99m used in Indian hospitals during each of the last five years; (b) the quantity imported during the said period and the countries of origin; (c) the details of the number of instances of supply shortage reported by hospitals/nuclear medicine centres during this period; and (d) the steps taken by the Government to enhance domestic radioisotope production capacity and reduce import dependence? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES & PENSIONS AND PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE (DR. JITENDRA SINGH) (a) Molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), Iodine-131(I-131) and Lutetium-177 (Lu-177) are the most important reactor-produced medical radioisotopes, accounting for nearly 90% of all Nuclear Medicine applications. Owing to their relatively short half-lives, these medical radioisotopes are produced at regular intervals, typically on a weekly or fortnightly basis in the Dhruva reactor, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). The total activity of 99Mo, 131I and 177Lu based radiopharmaceutical products produced and supplied during the past five years is detailed below. Radioisotope Production Production Data (Ci) capacity (Ci) 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 Lu-177 50 Ci/batch 473 532 684 681 976 99Mo-99mTc 50 Ci/week 662 693 268 283 550 I-131 50 Ci/week 749 813 710 623 770(b) During maintenance shutdown of reactor/radiochemical processing facility or non- availability due to technical reasons, these radioisotopes are procured through imports from overseas producers for production and supply of radiopharmaceuticals to nuclear medicine centres. The details of the medical radioisotopes imported during such periods, along with the quantities imported, are summarized in the Table below. Radio- Imported Quantities and Country of Origin(Curies) isotope 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 Lu-177 - - - 10 Ci (Russia) 136 Ci (Russia) Mo-99 460 Ci Australia, 430 Ci 30 Ci Egypt, 230 Ci 516 Ci Russia Australia, Russia Egypt, Russia Belgium, Russia Russia I-131 219 Ci Poland, - - 174 Ci Poland, 421 Ci South Africa South Africa Russia, South Africa, Belgium (c) While Board of Radiation & Isotope Technology (BRIT) a constituent unit under Department of Atomic Energy has been able to supply the confirmed orders to an extent of ~ 90 % in conditions of normal operations, there have been shortfalls due to unforeseen shutdown of reactor/radiochemical processing facilities due to technical reasons and non- availability of imported backup supplies during such contingencies. The details of supply shortfalls during the past five years are presented below: Radioisotope Short supply/Cancellation 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 Mo-99 2 batches 1 batch 13 batches 19 batches Nil (52 batches/annum) I-131 1 batch Nil 4 batches 10 batches 3 batches (52 batches/annum) Lu-177 Nil 2 batches 2 batches 7 batches 3 batches (52 batches/annum) (d) Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) a Research and Development unit under Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has obtained administrative and financial sanction to the project “Engineering and Construction of Isotope Production Reactor”. It is expected that production is likely to start around 2035 with 0.5 MCi(million Curie) radio-isotope production capacity. * * * * *