Vocabulary Builder — Essay & Answer Writing
Feedstock
Raw material used as the primary input in an industrial process or manufacturing chain, especially in chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, or energy production; the substance that is processed or converted to create a final product
English feed (to supply material) + stock (raw material inventory) — industrial usage from the early 20th century
"Thorium, abundantly available in India's coastal sands, is intended to serve as the primary feedstock for the third stage of India's three-stage nuclear programme, potentially making India self-sufficient in nuclear energy."
Relevant for GS3 (Economy/S&T — energy, nuclear programme, chemicals, pharma). Key contexts: (1) Nuclear feedstock — uranium (stages 1-2) and thorium (stage 3) in India's three-stage programme; India has ~25-30% of world's thorium reserves in monazite sands (Kerala, Tamil Nadu). (2) Petrochemical feedstock — crude oil, naphtha, natural gas. (3) Pharmaceutical API feedstock — India's API dependence on China. (4) Green hydrogen feedstock — renewable electricity + water.
