Photo credit: PTI
NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi said on Thursday that his govt is moving towards opening up the nuclear sector in the country for private sector investments on the lines of the space sector.“The scope of reforms is continuously expanding. Just as space innovation was opened to the private sector, India is now moving towards opening the nuclear sector as well,” Modi said while inaugurating Skyroot’s Infinity Campus in Hyderabad via video conferencing. “A strong role for the private sector is being laid in this field, which will create opportunities in small modular reactors, advanced reactors and nuclear innovation. This reform will give new strength to India’s energy security and technological leadership,” he said.The PM’s remarks came ahead of Parliament’s winter session in which a key nuclear energy bill proposing to open up the civil nuclear sector to private players is listed. The Atomic Energy Bill, 2025, is listed in the Lok Sabha bulletin for the session, which will start from Dec 1. Amendments to another key nuclear law, Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA), 2010, are also on the cards. These amendments, if successfully passed, will usher in big reforms in the nuclear sector at a time when India has set a target of generating at least 100 GW nuclear energy by 2047.At present, the Atomic Energy Act prohibits the participation of the private sector or even state govts. Under this law, the power to operate nuclear power plants is vested in the central govt and companies or corporations established by it. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), a PSU under the Department of Atomic Energy, is the only entity operating nuclear power plants, and currently operates all 24 commercial nuclear reactors in the country.Modi also said the future will depend greatly on the research being carried out today, and underscored that the govt is focused on providing maximum opportunities for youth in research. He underlined that the Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development, and Innovation Fund will provide significant support to the youth. Modi said more than 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs have already been set up to instil a spirit of research and innovation among students, and added that work is under way to establish 50,000 new labs in the coming days, he said.
