India urged to review green finance rules, build workforce for nuclear expansion

New Delhi: India needs ​to review some of its ​financing rules and develop a stronger talent ​pipeline to achieve its ambitious goal of expanding nuclear power capacity to 100 gigawatts (GW) by 2047, officials and industry executives said on Wednesday.

India's sovereign ‌green bond ⁠framework, green ⁠deposit and financing rules need to be reviewed as they currently ​do not cover nuclear investments, said Abhay Karandikar, a member of top government ​think tank NITI Aayog.

India last year opened its tightly controlled nuclear sector to private companies in a bid to ​attract foreign technology and investment.


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The South ⁠Asian nation expects ‌that the industry will require nearly $210 billion ​of investment ​to expand capacity from the current level ⁠of 8.8 GW.

Global financial institutions, including the World ​Bank, have started reviews to support investments into ​nuclear projects, Karandikar said at PowerGen India's event in New Delhi.

The shortage of specialised education and training is a major concern, industry executives said, noting that the country's clean energy industry is already facing a talent crunch.

"There is a ‌lack of nuclear courses in India, starting from schools to top universities, barring a few premier ​institutes," Kalirajan S, ​managing director of ⁠EDF Nuclear Projects India Pvt, said.

France's EDF has been conducting certification programmes with vendors in India and plans to expand them ​further to help develop a local nuclear supply chain, he said.

NITI Aayog has formed a committee to look at how India can expand its nuclear expertise at all levels - from technicians to research and development, Karandikar said.