The Union Government plans to promote nuclear reactors in India through a Nuclear Energy Mission with an outlay of Rs 20,000 crore. In her speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stressed how nuclear energy development is necessary for India’s energy transition plans.
The Budget announced that India’s nuclear energy capacity, which stands at eight gigawatts (gw), will develop to “at least 100 gw by 2047”. This is expected to be achieved by promoting small modular reactors (SMRs), which were a major focus in the 2024-25 Budget as well.
The plan is to set up and operationalise at least five “indigenously developed” SMRs in the country in the next eight years, by 2033. The Nuclear Energy Mission announced by Sitharaman would open collaboration with the private sector and focus on research and development (R&D) for these SMRs.
The Economic Survey released earlier had highlighted public concerns about nuclear safety, as well as the monopoly over nuclear technologies in a few countries, as some of these challenges.
To allay these concerns, Sitharaman spoke about the Government’s plans to amend certain nuclear energy acts. For an active partnership with the private sector towards this goal, required changes will be brought in the Atomic Energy Act and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act.