New Delhi, August 12: India is accelerating efforts to build a self-reliant and globally competitive nuclear energy ecosystem, with a focus on indigenous reactor technologies, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), thorium utilisation, domestic manufacturing and greater private-sector participation, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The government’s long-term nuclear strategy is anchored in India’s three-stage nuclear power programme and the Nuclear Energy Mission announced in the Union Budget 2025-26. The mission aims to expand India’s nuclear energy capacity to 100 GWe by 2047.
Under the two-pronged strategy for capacity expansion, India plans to deploy large indigenous reactors, including 700 MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs), at greenfield sites while developing SMRs for brownfield locations such as retiring fossil-fuel power plants, captive industrial facilities and remote off-grid applications.
A key target under the Nuclear Energy Mission is to develop and operationalise at least five indigenous SMRs by 2033. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is working on indigenous designs including the 220 MWe Bharat Small Modular Reactor (BSMR-200) and the 55 MWe SMR-55.
BARC is also developing a High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor of up to 5 MWth capacity, which could be coupled with a thermochemical cycle for hydrogen production.
Dr Jitendra Singh also highlighted the work of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) in advancing the second stage of India’s nuclear programme. The centre is pursuing research and engineering development related to Sodium Cooled Fast Breeder Reactors and associated closed fuel-cycle facilities.
The government is simultaneously seeking to expand the domestic nuclear manufacturing and research ecosystem. The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act, 2025 has been enacted to facilitate wider participation of public and private entities in nuclear manufacturing, engineering services, research and development and supply chains.
According to the minister, the Department of Atomic Energy is supporting Indian industry through knowledge-sharing and handholding for emerging SMR technologies while developing domestic vendors and strengthening private-sector research capabilities.
Critical components, including low-alloy steel forgings for reactor pressure vessels and reactivity control drive mechanisms, have already been developed through domestic industry, while work on other critical equipment is underway with industry and start-ups.
The reforms under the SHANTI Act are aimed at expanding private participation while retaining stringent requirements relating to nuclear safety, security and safeguards. The legislation also provides statutory status to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
Dr Jitendra Singh said India’s long-term nuclear strategy also places significant emphasis on thorium, given the country’s substantial thorium resources.
Under the three-stage programme, natural uranium is first used in PHWRs, with spent fuel reprocessed to extract plutonium. The second stage involves Fast Breeder Reactors, which use plutonium to generate additional fissile material. The third stage envisages large-scale utilisation of thorium through uranium-233 produced from thorium after adequate Fast Breeder Reactor capacity has been established.
India has already undertaken research towards thorium utilisation. Thorium oxide pellets have been used in the initial cores of operating PHWRs, while thoria-based fuels have been irradiated in BARC research reactors. Irradiated thoria has also been reprocessed to obtain uranium-233, which was subsequently fabricated as fuel for the KAMINI reactor at IGCAR, Kalpakkam.
The government is also working to strengthen domestic capabilities across the nuclear fuel cycle, reactor design, manufacturing and construction. Alongside energy generation, efforts are being made to expand indigenous nuclear medicine infrastructure through the Isotope Production Reactor, aimed at increasing domestic production of medical isotopes.
The government’s overall approach combines expansion of nuclear capacity with indigenous technology development, advanced reactor research, domestic manufacturing and greater private-sector participation, with the objective of strengthening India’s long-term energy security and technological self-reliance.
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