New body will focus on research and development of SMRs
India wants to amend its liability law to boost foreign and private investments in its civilian nuclear energy sector and also aims to set up a Nuclear Energy Mission with an outlay $2.3bn (€2.2bn) to operate at least five indigenously developed small modular reactors (SMRs) by 2033.
According to the finance ministry, the mission will focus on research and development of SMRs.
Finance and corporate affairs minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the development of at least 100 GW of nuclear energy by 2047 is essential for the country’s energy transition efforts. India currently has about 6.9 GW of nuclear capacity in operation with about 5.4 GW under construction.
The announcements were part of Sitharaman’s budget on 1 February and came ahead of prime minister Narendra Modi’s planned US visit from 12-14 February.
Strict liabilities under India’s Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, have hampered implementation of an India-US deal that would allow participation in India new-build projects of US reactor technology companies such as General Electric and Westinghouse.
US ‘Finalising Steps’ To Remove Barriers
The US said last month, before Donald Trump was sworn in as president, that it was finalising steps to remove barriers to civil nuclear cooperation with India as it seeks to capitalise on the Asian nation’s ambition plans for reactor development and deployment.
Washington and New Delhi have been discussing the supply of US nuclear reactors to India since the mid-2000s.
But a longstanding obstacle has been the need to bring Indian liability rules in line with global norms, which require the costs of any accident to be channelled to the operator rather than the maker of a nuclear power plant.
The removal of US restrictions on civil nuclear cooperation is expected to bring a number of significant benefits for India’s domestic nuclear energy industry, including access to advanced technology, the transfer of knowledge and skills, greater investment in infrastructure and the strengthening of regulatory frameworks.
Last month, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) issued a request for proposals for the deployment of Bharat small modular reactors, opening the doors of the nuclear sector to Indian private companies for the first time.
Until now, only state-owned NPCIL has been allowed to build and deploy commercial nuclear power plants in India.
Plans For 18 More Reactors By 2032
The proposal would allow private companies to build reactors under NPCIL’s control and supervision. On completion, plants would be operated by NPCIL under a long-term operation and maintenance agreement.
The deployment of the Bharat SMR – Bharat being the Hindi for “India” – forms part of the country’s plans under ‘Viksit Bharat’, which is Hindi for “Developed India”.
The details of the Bharat nuclear plant’s development remain unclear, but Sitharaman said in July the initiative would involve a joint venture between state power company National Thermal Power Corporation and state power generation equipment manufacturer Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited.
New Delhi is bullish on nuclear. NPCIL said recently that India plans to add 18 more nuclear reactors to its national energy mix by 2031-32, bringing the total nuclear power capacity of the country to 22.4 GW.
NPCIL did not say whether the 22.4 GW would be net or gross, but either way it represents a significant increase from around 6.9 GW net today.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, India has 20 reactors in commercial operation which provided about 3% of the country’s electricity generation in 2023. It has seven plants under construction.
