NITI Aayog working on amendments to open nuclear power for private sector: NITI Aayog CEO Subrahmanyam

Federal policy think tank NITI Aayog is working on amendments to open nuclear power for the private sector at a time when nuclear energy is emerging as a key source of sustainable and clean energy, said chief executive officer B. V. R. Subrahmanyam.

Speaking at a WRI India event in the national capital, Subrahmanyam noted that nuclear power would be a key driver for sustainability and bolstering climate finance in the country.

The amendment allowing private sector participation was announced in the Union budget for 2025-26, in which finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Nuclear Energy Mission.

To facilitate the mission's implementation, amendments to the Atomic Energy Act and Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act will be taken up in Parliament. These changes are expected to encourage private-sector investments in nuclear power projects, according to a government statement issued after the budget.

Subrahmanyam added that NITI Aayog was “closely” working on these amendments.

The NITI Aayog CEO also emphasized the need to lower the cost of capital for clean-energy projects. He said banks were reluctant to extend credit to buyers of electric buses and trucks, given their low resale value.

Currently, the cost of capital for renewable-energy projects in India stands at about 15%—significantly higher than in other countries, such as Germany, where it is around 8%.

The think tank is exploring models such as sovereign guarantees and co-lending to reduce the high cost of climate finance, he said. Sovereign guarantees, he added, help reduce uncertainty associated with sustainable projects.

He called on states and other agencies to propose more large-scale initiatives in the renewable energy and sustainability sector, noting a shortage of billion-dollar projects.

“We need more projects, more billion-dollar projects. Which state has tried to start a project to convert all its vehicles into EVs (electric vehicles) by a certain date? There is abundant funding available from institutions such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and others. What we need is a supply of these projects to generate demand for capital,” he said.