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In a written reply in the Lok Sabha on 12 August 2026, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh set out the government's roadmap for a self-reliant nuclear energy ecosystem built around the target of 100 GWe of nuclear capacity by 2047.
The Nuclear Energy Mission, announced in the Union Budget 2025-26, carries a ₹20,000 crore outlay and a target of at least five indigenously designed Small Modular Reactors operational by 2033.
The strategy is two-pronged: large indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors of 700 MWe and advanced designs at greenfield sites, plus SMRs at brownfield sites including retiring fossil-fuel plants, captive industrial plants and off-grid remote locations.
BARC is developing three demonstration designs — the 220 MWe Bharat Small Modular Reactor (BSMR-200) and the 55 MWe SMR-55, both cleared in principle for Tarapur in Maharashtra, and a High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor of up to 5 MWth for hydrogen production at BARC Visakhapatnam.
The legal basis is the SHANTI Act, 2025, passed in December 2025, which ended the state monopoly, allowed domestic private participation and foreign direct investment up to 49%, and gave statutory authority to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
An SMR is a nuclear reactor of comparatively small capacity whose major components are built in a factory and shipped to site as modules for assembly, instead of being constructed piece by piece in the field. Because the units are small, capacity can be added in blocks as demand grows, the site footprint and emergency planning zone shrink, and an SMR can be dropped onto the land and grid connection of a retiring coal plant. That last point is why the roadmap places SMRs at brownfield sites: the transmission line, water access and skilled workforce already exist. The trade-off is that a small reactor loses the economies of scale a 700 MWe unit enjoys, so the economics depend on building many identical units.
Simple Analogy: A conventional reactor is a house built brick by brick on the plot. An SMR is a prefabricated house — the rooms are made in a factory to a fixed design and bolted together on site, so the tenth one costs far less than the first.
Passed in December 2025. It ends the state monopoly in nuclear power, permits domestic private participation and foreign direct investment of up to 49%, and gives statutory authority to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. It replaces the framework of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.
Caps the maximum compensation payable for nuclear damage at the rupee equivalent of 300 million Special Drawing Rights.
The earlier statute under which atomic energy was reserved to the Central Government, keeping generation with public sector entities such as NPCIL.
Introduced operator liability and a supplier right of recourse; its supplier-liability clause was long cited as the reason foreign vendors stayed away from Indian projects.
Nuclear Energy Mission announced in the Union Budget 2025-26 with the 100 GWe by 2047 target and a ₹20,000 crore SMR outlay.
SHANTI Act, 2025 passed, opening the sector to private and limited foreign participation.
The Supreme Court heard a petition challenging provisions of the SHANTI Act, filed by former civil servants and scientists led by E.A.S. Sarma and argued by advocate Prashant Bhushan, before a Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
NITI Aayog held a stakeholder consultation on draft rules, regulatory frameworks and domestic supply-chain requirements under the Act.
Dr Jitendra Singh laid out the full roadmap in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
Target year for at least five indigenously designed SMRs to be operational.
Target year for 100 GWe of installed nuclear capacity.
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A reactor in which heavy water serves as both moderator and coolant, allowing the use of natural uranium as fuel. It is the mainstay of India's indigenous programme, with 700 MWe the largest indigenous size.
A compact reactor built as factory-made modules for assembly on site, enabling phased capacity addition and siting at brownfield locations.
A reactor cooled by helium or another inert gas that operates at high temperatures, making the process heat usable for industrial applications such as hydrogen production.
A site already used for industrial or power generation activity, so grid connection, water and workforce are in place — the opposite of a greenfield site.
The IMF's international reserve asset, whose value is set by a basket of major currencies. Indian nuclear liability limits are expressed in SDR rather than rupees.