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Whether the ambitious targets are achievable is a moot question as India's earlier target was 20,000 MW of nuclear power by 2020.
In a big and ambitious boost for the nuclear power sector, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) for research and development to develop small modular reactors (SMR).
Presenting her eighth Budget, Sitharaman said: 'A Nuclear Energy Mission for research & development of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) with an outlay of Rs 20,000 crore will be set up. At least five indigenously developed SMRs will be operationalised by 2033.'
Development of at least 100 GW of nuclear energy by 2047 is essential for 'our energy transition efforts', the minister added.
'For an active partnership with the private sector towards this goal, amendments to the Atomic Energy Act and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act will be taken up,' Sitharaman said.
Whether the ambitious targets are achievable is a moot question as India's earlier target was 20,000 MW of nuclear power by 2020. The country has about 8,000 MW of nuclear power as on date, as per the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL).
Further, the budgetary allocation for 2025-2026 for the Department of Atomic Energy has been reduced as compared to 2024-2025.
As per the Budget papers, the Department of Atomic Energy will get Rs 24,049.10 crore (Rs 240.49) for 2025-2026 down from Rs 24,450.66 crore (Rs 244.50 billion) in 2024-2025 which is incidentally lower than the initial Budget Estimates of Rs 24,968.98 crore (Rs 249.68 billion).
However the allocations for the five R&D units under the Department of Atomic Energy have been increased to Rs 4,745.67 crore (Rs 47.45 billion) for FY26 up from Rs 4,472.94 crore (Rs 44.72 billion) in FY25.
Within the above the total allocation for R&D projects of the five units for FY26 is Rs 1,815.36 crore (Rs 18.15 billion) up from Rs 1,559.87 crore (Rs 11.59 billion) in FY25.
Nuclear power has featured in Sitharaman's last two Budget speeches.
Presenting her seventh Budget last year Sitharaman said: 'Nuclear energy is expected to form a very significant part of the energy mix for Viksit Bharat.'
'Towards that pursuit, our government will partner with the private sector for 1. Setting up Bharat Small Reactors; 2. Research & development of Bharat Small Modular Reactor, and 3. Research & development of newer technologies for nuclear energy.
'The R&D funding announced in the interim budget will be made available for this sector,' Sitharaman had said.
As regards the status of the announcements made last year, the government has said for involving private sector participation in development of SMRs, the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 has to be amended and NITI Aayog is working on finalising the amendments needed.
According to the government, the Atomic Energy Commission has approved the business model for setting up Bharat Small Reactors.
And on the last day of 2024, the NPCIL called for Request for Proposal (RFP) from Indian industry to set up 2x 220MW or multiples of Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) now called Bharat Small Reactor for captive use.
Asked if the RFP conditions are restrictive for the private sector, a retired NPCIL senior official said better clarity will be there after the pre-proposal clarification meeting.
The situation is evolving and important supplementary information will be available later, the retired official said.
According to Atomic Energy Regulatory Board Chairman Dinesh Kumar Shukla, the BSRs are similar to existing 220 MWe operating Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR). The safety regulations applicable for them will apply for BSRs.
The NPCIL has 14 220MW PHWRs spread across different locations with a good safety record.
Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at venkatacharijagannathan@gmail.com