The Government of India is preparing to make major policy changes in the nuclear energy sector to promote green energy. Under this, several measures are being considered to attract private investment in the nuclear sector, including models like “Assured Power Purchase Agreement”.
Business News: India is moving towards making a major change in its energy strategy. The government is now preparing to increase the participation of private companies in the nuclear energy sector. Under this, private companies will be able to work in areas like operation of nuclear power plants, power generation and equipment manufacturing, while the government is considering guaranteeing power purchase.
This step is being considered as part of the strategy to promote clean energy in the country and achieve the goal of energy self-sufficiency by 2047.
Private sector will get a bigger role in nuclear energy
Under the new proposals, private companies could be given several important roles in the nuclear power sector, including:
- operation of nuclear power plants
- power generation
- Equipment manufacturing
certain nuclear activities
However, due to security reasons, some sensitive areas will be kept out of the purview of private companies. These include:
- Enrichment and isotope separation of radioactive materials
- Management of spent nuclear fuel
- Hai Wei Water Production and Upgradation
- Government’s ‘Assured Power Purchase’ scheme
The government is considering models like Guaranteed Power Purchase Agreement to attract private investment. Under this, the government can guarantee the purchase of nuclear power produced by private companies.
SHANTI Act, 2025 will open the way for private investment
Under the SHANTI (Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India) Act, 2025, implemented last year, the private sector has been given a limited but important role in nuclear energy. Companies under:
- plant operation
- power generation
- equipment manufacturing
- Some activities related to fuel processing
Can participate in. The government is now preparing to issue new regulations under this law.
Financial support will be provided from RDI fund
The government is considering funding through a Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) scheme to promote private companies and startups in the nuclear sector. Under this scheme:
- Cheap and unsecured finance for long term
- Promotion of technology development
- Support to startups
Apart from this, the possibility of creating a separate sector-specific fund has also been raised in the initial phase.
India’s nuclear capability and current status
India’s current nuclear power capacity is about 8.78 GW. Currently in the country:
- 24 nuclear reactors are operational at 7 locations
- Nuclear’s share in electricity generation is only 1.7%
- Fossil fuels contribute 47.7%
- The share of non-fossil energy has reached 50.6%
The government aims to increase nuclear capacity to 22.38 GW by 2031-32. India has set an ambitious target of increasing nuclear energy capacity to 100 GW by 2047. This goal is part of the country’s long-term energy security and carbon emissions reduction strategy. The government is also rapidly promoting Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). For this, a Nuclear Energy Mission worth Rs 20,000 crore was started last year.
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