India’s Expanding Nuclear Pivot and the Race Toward 2047

India’s nuclear sector is entering a more assertive phase. With long-term energy security and decarbonisation emerging as twin priorities, policymakers and industry leaders are realigning around the idea that atomic energy must play a central role in the future power system. The ambition is substantial; the pathway is defined by the readiness of large reactors, the evolving promise of Small Modular Reactors (SMR), and a legal framework still built for a state-controlled era.

India’s interest in nuclear energy has been reinforced by global fuel volatility and the rising need for dependable baseload in a high-renewables system.

For Prasenjit Pal, Executive Director, NTPC Ltd, nuclear power’s value lies in its emissions profile. He notes that its lifetime carbon footprint “is equal to wind, less than solar and definitely much lesser than coal,” making it essential for long-duration decarbonisation.

NTPC, historically anchored in coal, is now positioning nuclear as a strategic pillar. Its joint venture with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd to build four 700 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) in Rajasthan marks a decisive shift. At the same time, NTPC’s dedicated subsidiary is evaluating global reactor technologies with a clear benchmark: power must be economically dispatchable under India’s merit-order regime.

While modular reactors are generating interest worldwide, high-capacity light-water reactors continue to dominate international proposals for India. Dr Kalirajan S, MD, EDF Nuclear Projects India Pvt Ltd, argues that land constraints make large units indispensable.

“Availability of suitable sites is limited,” he says, noting that a single location such as Jaitapur could generate nearly 10 GW if six European Pressurised Reactors (EPR) are deployed. First-of-a-kind projects, however, remain capital intensive. EDF is attempting to reduce future costs through localisation: its Indian engineering arm already supports global EPR work, and manufacturer training in European nuclear codes is underway. “Localising design and manufacturing will reduce cost drastically,” Dr Kalirajan says, provided India commits to multi- unit orders.

A similar view comes from Dr Alok Mishra, Country Director, Westinghouse India Pvt Ltd, who highlights Westinghouse’s “buy where you build” strategy. Indian suppliers shortlisted for the AP1000 are expected to participate not only domestically but in global deployments. Mishra notes that the AP1000’s passive safety design uses “almost 65 percent less concrete, 70 percent less cables and 55 percent fewer pumps” than older reactors—features that can improve long-term cost competitiveness.

Despite technological progress, India’s nuclear expansion remains shaped by legislation that restricts private participation. The Atomic Energy Act allows only government-owned entities to operate nuclear plants, a condition that complicates financing models and limits competition. Mishra argues that India’s nuclear ambition “cannot be engineered by the government and its state enterprise alone,” calling for modernisation of both the Atomic Energy Act and the civil liability framework to align with international norms.

Pal cites a recent tender that required private developers to purchase land, raise finance and construct a plant, only to transfer ownership to a state entity. “A project-financed developer’s collateral is the project,” he explains. “How can he transfer that asset to somebody else?” Without legislative clarity, meaningful private capital will remain constrained.

SMR have gained political visibility after a ₹20,000-crore allocation in the Union Budget, yet commercial deployment remains some distance away. Pal clarifies that the allocation is “essentially an R&D fund” for the Department of Atomic Energy to examine modular designs. India’s 220 MW PHWR, though small, “is not a small modular reactor,” and converting it into one requires a fundamental redesign.

Globally, between 80 and 90 SMR concepts are for now in licensing or prototype stages. Only two—the floating reactor developed by Rosatom and a Chinese unit—have reached full commercial deployment. “The first few SMRs would obviously be very, very costly,” Pal says, noting that cost reductions will come only after serial manufacturing.

Despite this, private interest is rising. Ranbir Sarand Das, Chairman & MD, Fairwood Group, expects modular technologies to take a significant share of India’s nuclear mix. He argues that SMRs could account for “at least twenty percent” of the nuclear fleet by 2047, particularly for data centres, industrial clusters and remote regions. For investors like Fairwood, the attraction lies in long-term revenue certainty. “If today we were to go and say I want 10 SMRs, very soon that will be developed,” he says, emphasising the role of scale in lowering costs.

Safety perceptions and community confidence remain essential for nuclear expansion. Katerina Astashina, South Asia Lead, ROSATOM, underscores the role of transparent communication. She notes that modern VVER-1200 reactors are equipped with passive shutdown systems that operate without external power, adding that nuclear energy has one of the lowest fatality rates globally per unit of electricity generated.

Astashina says long-term engagement with local communities, visible operational safety and clear information flow have helped stabilise acceptance at Kudankulam—a factor that will matter as India scales nuclear generation across new sites.

India’s target of one hundred gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2047 is ambitious but not implausible. Achieving it will require updated legislation, deeper localisation of high-value components, predictable financing frameworks and technological diversity across large reactors and SMRs.

Momentum is building across public utilities, international vendors and private investors. The scale of progress, however, will depend on how effectively India reshapes a nuclear ecosystem designed in another era.

This article is adapted from a panel discussion on ‘Reinventing Atomic Energy for a Net Zero Future’ at Bharat Electricity 2025.