Govt says 14.3 GW of nuclear power capacity in pipeline

New Delhi: Nuclear power projects that will add 14.3 GW of renewable energy capacity are in different stages of implementation in India, the power ministry told Parliament on Thursday.

According to data provided by the ministry, 7.3 GW of nuclear power capacity is already under construction.

"In addition to under-construction 7,300 MW nuclear power capacity, an additional capacity of 7,000 MW is also under implementation, at pre-project activities stage," Union minister of state for power Shripad Naik said in a written reply.

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Currently, India has an installed nuclear power capacity of 8.18 GW and the government aims to triple the capacity by 2032.

However, Naik outlined some key challenges in developing nuclear power projects, including suitable sites and their acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement, environment clearances, local issues, and timely supplies of equipment.

"Further, there are high upfront costs of reactors, regulatory requirements, and the dependency on imported nuclear fuel," he told the Lok Sabha.

Small modular reactors in focus

Amid the limited availability of large land parcels, the Centre is now also focusing on developing small modular reactors in the country. The Union budget for FY26 proposed a mission to deploy 100 GW of nuclear energy by 2047.

The mission aims to provide a reliable alternative to fossil fuels with an objective to replace retiring thermal power-plants, set up captive plants for energy intensive industries and providing energy for remote as well as off-grid locations in order to decarbonize the energy sector.

In another statement to Parliament, Union minister of state (independent charge) for science and technology, atomic energy and space Jitendra Singh said the department of atomic energy is designing and developing 'Bharat Small Modular Reactor - 200MWe', 'Small Modular Reactor (SMR) - 55Mwe', and gas-cooled high-temperature reactors for producing hydrogen.

A fund of ₹20,000 crore has been allocated in this year's budget for deployment of five SMRs in the country by 2033.

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Further, the Centre has also announced to partner with the private sector for setting up Bharat Small Reactor (BSR), following which Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) has floated a Request-for-Proposal to private industries to finance and build small-sized 220 MW pressurized heavy water reactor-based nuclear power plants as captive plants for electricity production.

A task force has been constituted in the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to look into the amendments required in the Atomic Energy Act, Singh informed the Rajya Sabha. The task force has members from DAE, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), NPCIL, NITI Aayog, ministry of law and justice and ministry of external affairs. It is looking into various aspects like build, own, operation of nuclear power plants by private sector, nuclear safety, security, safeguards, fuel procurement, waste, management, spent fuel reprocessing among others.

In addition, a separate task force is also looking into Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLND Act) to address the concerns raised by private suppliers, Singh informed the parliament.

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