The government will make ₹1 trillion announced in the Interim Budget 2024-25 available for the purpose, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said

Small modular reactors can be factory-built, unlike conventional nuclear reactors that are built on-site.

Small modular reactors can be factory-built, unlike conventional nuclear reactors that are built on-site.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced that the government will support research and development (R&D) of small modular reactors (SMR) to increase the share of nuclear power in India's energy basket.

Presenting the Union Budget 2024-25, Sitharaman said the government will partner with the private sector to develop SMRs. “Nuclear energy is expected to form a significant part of the energy mix for Viksit Bharat. Towards that pursuit, our government will partner with the private sector to set up Bharat Small Modular Reactors and research and develop newer technologies for nuclear energy."

The R&D funding of ₹1 trillion announced in the Interim Budget 2024-25 will be made available for the purpose, the finance minister added.

Mint first reported that the Centre is looking at offering sops for developing SMRs to increase nuclear power generation in the country.

SMRs are smaller reactors that can be factory-built, unlike conventional nuclear reactors that are built on-site. They have a power capacity of up to 300 megawatts (MW) per unit, about a third of the capacity of traditional nuclear reactors. But, being a mobile and agile technology, they can be set up at locations unsuitable for larger plants.

The push for nuclear power, which is considered to be a cleaner fuel or non-fossil fuel, comes in the backdrop of India’s ambitious net-zero goals. India has pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.

Currently, India’s installed nuclear power capacity is 7.48 gigawatts (GW) and expected to reach 22.28GW by 2031.

Union minister of state for atomic energy and space Jitendra Singh told Parliament in August 2023 that the government was exploring options for collaborating with other countries and taking up indigenous development of SMRs. He said provisions of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, are being examined to allow the participation of the private sector.

India's state-run power generation company NTPC Ltd has already formed a joint venture with another government-owned company Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd (NCPIL) to set up two nuclear power generation projects in the country. NTPC is now planning a major entry into nuclear energy by setting up 10GW of capacity with an investment of ₹1.5 trillion over a period of 10 years.

(With Inputs From Agencies)