Sops for private investors in nuclear energy on cards

New Delhi: The government is considering several measures, including assured power purchase agreements, to attract private sector investments in the nuclear energy sector as part of a mega push towards green transition.

The government will soon initiate consultations with technology developers, operators and investors, Abhay Karandikar, member, Niti Aayog, said.

Sector-specific Fund
It is also preparing to notify rules under Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act, 2025, he said.


The government could also consider financial support to incentivise private sector participation, according to him.

“The idea is to get stakeholders’ feedback on capital flows as well as technology readiness before the government lays out a roadmap for sustainable development of nuclear capacity in the country,” said Karandikar.

Financial support to the private sector can be extended through the Rs 1 lakh crore Research Development and Innovation (RDI) scheme or a separate sector-specific fund could be set up to handhold the private sector in the initial years.

The RDI scheme provides long-term, low-interest and unsecured financing to the private sector and startups to accelerate transformative technologies, including nuclear energy.

The SHANTI Act, 2025 allows private companies to participate in the nuclear sector, enabling them to undertake plant operations, power generation, equipment manufacturing and selected activities such as fabrication of nuclear fuel, including conversion, refining and enrichment of uranium-235 up to such threshold value, or production, use, processing or disposal of other prescribed substances.

However, certain sensitive nuclear fuel-cycle activities, including enrichment or isotopic separation of prescribed or radioactive substances, management of spent fuel such as reprocessing, recycling, radionuclide separation and high-level waste handling, production and upgradation of heavy water, have been kept out of the purview of the private sector.

India’s nuclear capacity stands at 8.78 GW and is projected to increase to 22.38 GW by 2031-32. Through the consolidated and overarching legislation, the government aims to achieve 100 GW nuclear energy capacity by 2047 and advance long-term decarbonisation by 2070.

The government last year announced the Rs 20,000 crore Nuclear Energy Mission to drive design, development and deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs). It is targeting operationalisation of at least five indigenously designed SMRs by 2033.