Expanded civil nuclear energy strategy for India aiming at a capacity increase to 100 GW by the year 2047
India's ambitious nuclear energy target of 100 GW by 2047, announced at the Dubai COP28, has brought nuclear energy back into the multilateral climate conversation. This goal offers significant benefits alongside notable challenges.
Benefits
- Energy Security and Clean Growth: Nuclear power will help India meet its rapidly increasing energy demand sustainably, supporting industrial growth, urbanization, and the country’s net-zero emission goals by 2070.
- Reduction in Carbon Emissions: Scaling nuclear energy reduces dependence on coal and fossil fuels, contributing to cleaner air and environmental benefits crucial for combating climate change.
- Utilization of Thorium Reserves: India’s vast thorium resources can be harnessed through advanced nuclear technologies and a three-stage nuclear program, promising long-term fuel sustainability, less nuclear waste, and energy export potential.
- Economic Opportunities: The goal is expected to unlock a $100 billion+ market involving public-private partnerships, international collaborations, and the creation of jobs requiring a massive skilled workforce.
- Technology Advancement: Investment in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and other next-generation reactors by 2033 will accelerate innovation, operational flexibility, and safety in nuclear power generation.
Challenges
- Regulatory and Legislative Reforms: Major amendments to the Atomic Energy Act and Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act are necessary to enable private sector participation and investment, requiring complex legislative changes and policy reforms.
- Human Capital Scaling: Achieving the target requires building a very large, highly specialized workforce with expertise in construction, operation, and maintenance of advanced nuclear reactors and SMRs.
- Site Selection and Conversion: Converting old or retired thermal power plant sites to nuclear facilities involves preliminary assessments, regulatory clearances, and potential local opposition.
- Geopolitical and Security Concerns: Ensuring safeguards, non-proliferation commitments, and securing international partnerships remain ongoing challenges.
- Financial Investment: The scale of required investment is huge, demanding sustained government support, private sector confidence, and efficient fund allocation.
The nuclear energy mission includes plans to design and license up to 300-MW(e) Bharat SMRs, localise critical components, fund innovation in advanced fuels, and strengthen the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. Raising per-capita income to USD 22,000 by 2047 will require a significant increase in electricity output, and nuclear energy is expected to play a crucial role in meeting this demand.
Three measures build trust in nuclear power projects: early, transparent engagement, community benefit sharing equal to one percent of project cost, and a single-window system for approvals. Success in reaching the 100 GW goal depends on affordable finance, reformed liability law, and efficient land acquisition.
Lifecycle studies place the emissions of Pressurised Heavy-Water Reactors at roughly 12 g CO2-eq per kWh, lower than solar photovoltaic plus battery storage. The Budget 2025-26 allocates ₹20,000 crore for the nuclear energy mission, focusing on design, localisation, innovation, and regulatory strengthening.
Phase 1 (0-3 years) includes passing amendments to the Atomic Energy Act and CLNDA, enacting the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Law, launching SMR pilots on retired coal sites, and including nuclear in India's green taxonomy. The recommended integrated strategy to reach 100 GW by 2047 includes 60 GW of Pressurised Heavy-Water Reactors (PHWR), 20 GW of Small Modular Reactors (SMR), and 20 GW of imported Generation III+ reactors.
India operates 24 reactors, mostly Pressurised Heavy-Water Reactors, with an average lifetime load factor of about 82 percent. India's domestic uranium supply currently meets less than a quarter of its demand, but new deposits and long-term import contracts are improving resilience. Aligning the 100-GW plan with fast-breeder and AHWR timelines will secure fuel independence.
India's per-capita electricity consumption in 2022 was 1,208 kWh, significantly lower than China's 4,600 kWh and the United States' 12,500 kWh. The Indian government has set a new nuclear energy target of 100 GW by 2047, positioning nuclear energy as a keystone of national strategy. Nuclear power has the lowest lifecycle emissions among large-scale sources once storage is included. An independent Radioactive Waste Management Agency and a deep geological repository targeted for 2032 will address long-term waste.
The World Bank-International Atomic Energy Agency partnership (June 2025) aims to break the three-decade taboo on multilateral financing for nuclear projects.
- The nuclear energy strategy in India involves plans to design and license up to 300-MW(e) Bharat Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), signifying a focus on innovation for nuclear power generation.
- To unlock the economic benefits of India's ambitious nuclear energy goal, major reforms in the Atomic Energy Act and Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act are crucial to enable private sector participation and investment.
- The integration of nuclear energy into India's Green Taxonomy, as part of the first phase of reaching the 100 GW target, emphasizes the importance of this sector in the country's sustainable economic growth.
- A significant challenge in India's nuclear energy mission is ensuring geopolitical and security concerns are addressed, specifically by securing international partnerships and maintaining non-proliferation commitments.
- To efficiently address the scale of financial investment required for the nuclear energy target, the Indian government must secure sustained support from both public and private sectors, and allocate funds effectively for innovation and regulatory strengthening.
