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Three Rajya Sabha replies detail India's roadmap to 100 GW nuclear capacity by 2047 (announced under the Nuclear Energy Mission, Union Budget 2025-26): present capacity of 8.78 GW to reach ~22 GW by 2031-32, NPCIL's share rising to ~54 GW by 2047, with the balance 46 GW from other PSEs, private sector and joint ventures.
The strategy combines indigenous 700 MWe PHWRs and imported large reactors at greenfield sites with Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) for brownfield use — BARC has designed the 220 MWe Bharat Small Modular Reactor (BSMR-200, ₹5,960 crore), the 55 MWe SMR-55 (twin-unit, ₹7,000 crore) and a hydrogen-capable High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor, targeting at least 5 indigenous SMRs operational by 2033.
24 reactors are currently in commercial operation (8,780 MW); 10 more reactors are under construction (including Kudankulam-3&4&5&6 and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor) and 10 in pre-project activities, all under continuous safety oversight by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB, constituted 1983).
Public Sector Enterprise under DAE, operates India's commercial nuclear reactor fleet; projected to reach ~54 GW capacity by 2047
Designs SMR technology (BSMR-200, SMR-55, HTGCR) and, with Tata Memorial Centre, co-developed the '90Y-BhabhaSphere' radio-embolization product for liver tumours
Nuclear and radiation safety regulator; issues staged clearances (siting, construction, commissioning) under a defence-in-depth safety framework
Government enterprise (incorporated 2003) building and operating fast breeder reactors, including the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam
India's roadmap layers three technologies: (1) Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs, 700 MWe, indigenous, India's mainstay design using natural uranium and heavy water) for large greenfield sites; (2) Small Modular Reactors (SMRs, ≤300 MWe typically) for brownfield/off-grid/industrial captive use, replacing retiring fossil plants; (3) the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam, the flagship of Stage 2 of India's three-stage nuclear programme (Bhabha's plan), which 'breeds' more fissile material than it consumes, using plutonium and depleted/natural uranium.
Simple Analogy: PHWRs are the workhorse fleet, SMRs are compact plug-in units for tighter spaces, and the fast breeder reactor is the technology that lets India eventually run on its vast thorium reserves in Stage 3
GS Paper 3 > Science & Technology > Nuclear Energy; Economy > Energy Security
An electric iron of 1kW power operating on 220V requires a fuse of what rating to prevent short-circuiting?
Answer: 5 A
Very high — Nuclear Energy Mission is a flagship 2025-26 Budget announcement, expect repeated appearances
Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor — India's first 500 MWe sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam, Stage 2 of India's three-stage nuclear programme
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board — India's nuclear/radiation safety regulator, constituted 1983