India’s shift towards nuclear power has moved to the next phase, which is characterized by an unexpected but strategic collaboration between the state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) and India’s largest industrial conglomerates — Reliance, Adani, Tata, Jindal, and Vedanta. According to The Economic Times (April 28, 2025), the shift is not only an infrastructural and technological revolution but also regulatory and economic reform in India’s energy strategy book. India’s ambitious target to achieve the capacity of 100GW by 2047, a tenfold increase from the current 8GW, places this change at the center of India’s net-zero strategy and overall energy security narrative.

This work is a critical analysis of the implications, potential, and challenges of this public-private nuclear initiative.

The Promise of Nuclear Power in the Energy Composition of India

Nuclear power has several intrinsic benefits, including high-capacity factor, low greenhouse gas emissions, and the ability to generate base-load power. Nuclear power stations deliver constant 24/7 electricity unlike intermittent sources such as wind and solar, which is imperative to industrial decarbonisation.

Across the world, nations like the U.S. (around 20% electricity from nuclear) and France (more than 70% electricity from nuclear) have proven the viability of large-scale civilian nuclear programs. India, though one of the first to be part of the nuclear fold, was behind due to geopolitical isolation (prior to 2008), legal roadblocks, and capital intensity.

The recent participation of Indian conglomerates is the game-changer. They contribute financial strength, project management talent, and innovation systems. Jindal’s INR1.8 lakh crore investment for 18GW of capacity and Vedanta’s proposed plans of 5GW are the reflection of investor confidence towards the long-term returns of the atomic power sector.

Critical Drivers of the Shift

1. Policy Reform and Deregulation

The regulatory landscape is facing a large-scale realignment. New amendments to the Atomic Energy Act and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act seek to minimize investor risk by demarcating liability and ownership configurations. These are necessary moves because under existing regulations, the state can only be the owner or operator of the nuclear plants.

The plan to open up investment opportunities to Bharat Small Reactors (BSRs) to private capital, with NPCIL keeping operating control but the private investors acquiring rights to electricity production, forms a hybrid model — addressed both the risk issue and the issue of ownership.

2. Technological Sovereignty

India’s indigenous development of Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs), the upcoming Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR), along with future Bharat Small Modular Reactors (BSMRs), further enhances India’s self-sufficiency in nuclear technology. The PFBR, specifically, supports the likes of Homi Bhabha’s three-stage nuclear program, promising India long-term independence through the use of thorium — an arena where India has strategic world reserves.

Roadblocks and Challenges

1. Legal Liability and Investment Uncertainty

The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (2010) remains contentious. It makes suppliers (not only operators) liable in the case of an accident, which discourages international partners who supply the technology and makes it harder to finance.

Private sector investors are pushing for more transparent risk-sharing mechanisms and financial tools such as Viability Gap Funding (VGF) and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) of the long-term nature. Without such, private investors could be reluctant to undertake the high up-front investments required (INR15 crore/MW of BSRs).

2. Fuel Security and Supply Chains

India continues to be dependent upon foreign uranium, in spite of NPCIL assurances. Volatility of world uranium markets, geopolitical considerations, and earlier disruptions to coal to the thermal plants are all cause for concern. Although thorium has potential, commercial thorium reactor design remains several years away from maturity.

Fuel recycling and breeder reactors are sustainable, but require strong policy and infrastructure that does not yet exist at scale.

3. Public Perception and Safety

Despite India’s flawless safety track record, the world remains apprehensive, fueled by fears based on the memories of Chernobyl and Fukushima. Ensuring open emission monitoring, high public participation, and independent audits are crucial to sustaining public trust.

It is admirable that India has stringent radiations safety that is regulated through the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and has officially registered no accidents related to radiations in more than 55 years. However, new plants, particularly around repurposed thermal locations, will call for approvals, community engagement, and compensation mechanisms.

Geopolitical and Strategic Implications

India’s nuclear power aspiration is not only an Indian narrative — it is an international message too.

Cooperations with the American Holtec for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) as well as tie-ups with local companies such as Tata Consulting Engineers and L&T indicate an Indo-American tech corridor. This diversified the Indian nuclear ecosystem away from the earlier traditional partners such as Russia and France, making India a counterbalance to the new international league of nuclear suppliers that is emerging.

Additionally, the world’s third-largest consumer of energy and a signatory to the Paris Agreement, the low-carbon energy trajectory of India has international importance. Growth of the country’s nuclear program decreases reliance on hydrocarbons, enhances the country’s energy security, and facilitates export-oriented manufacturing (particularly green hydrogen and EV industries).

Impact and Consequences

1. Economic Reconfiguration

The joining of India’s corporate titans into the world of nuclear power can reshape the nation’s energy economy. Captive power to industries such as steel, aluminium, and railways can minimize transmission losses and release grid power to consumers’ homes. This can spur industrial decentralisation eventually and bring down the cost of energy.

2. Employment and Skill Development

Nuclear power initiatives require an exceptionally skilled workforce. This can spur jobs in the field of engineering, safety, robotics, AI monitoring systems, and radiation medicine. Support industries — ranging from heavy machinery to instrumentation — will benefit too.

3. Institutional Reform

The expanded use of private-public partnerships can make NPCIL adopt more efficient, responsive models of operation. State monopolies are typically beset with bureaucracy; competition and cooperation with the private sector can bring with it gains in performance and accountability.

4. Environmental Outcomes

If India replaces aging coal plants with nuclear power plants, it will substantially reduce emissions. Unlike renewable sources, nuclear power has high land area-specific power production and does not suffer from such problems as intermittency or weather dependence. Long-term management of radioactive wastes is, nonetheless, one area that remains undefined and requires immediate policy focus.

Conclusion: A New Atomic Age

India’s new nuclear narrative — one of indigenous innovation, investment, and geopolitical vision — is an inflection moment in the country’s energy journey. Getting to the target of 100GW of nuclear power by 2047 will take more than money and reactors; it needs regulatory boldness, technological vision, fuel security, and citizen confidence.

As was the vision of Homi Bhabha, never was atomic power all about the generation of electricity — it was all about empowering an independent future. Now, with Indian industrial titans at the command, state institutions evolving to suit new realities, that future looks at hand.

Dr. Prahlada N.B
MBBS (JJMMC), MS (PGIMER, Chandigarh). 
MBA in Healthcare & Hospital Management (BITS, Pilani), 
Postgraduate Certificate in Technology Leadership and Innovation (MIT, USA)
Executive Programme in Strategic Management (IIM, Lucknow)
Senior Management Programme in Healthcare Management (IIM, Kozhikode)
Advanced Certificate in AI for Digital Health and Imaging Program (IISc, Bengaluru). 

Senior Professor and former Head, 
Department of ENT-Head & Neck Surgery, Skull Base Surgery, Cochlear Implant Surgery. 
Basaveshwara Medical College & Hospital, Chitradurga, Karnataka, India. 

My Vision: I don’t want to be a genius.  I want to be a person with a bundle of experience. 

My Mission: Help others achieve their life’s objectives in my presence or absence!

My Values:  Creating value for others. 

References

  • The Economic Times. The Ambani, Adani, Tata twist to India’s nuclear energy playbook. April 20, 2025.
  • World Nuclear Association. Nuclear Power in India. https://world-nuclear.org
  • International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Safety Standards for Nuclear Installations.
  • Kakodkar A. Nuclear Energy in India: Current Status and the Road Ahead. Energy Policy Journal. 2022.
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