In her Budget 2025-26 speech, Union Minister for Finance, Nirmala Sitharaman made major announcements regarding nuclear energy generation in India which may have long-term impacts on the make-up of the industry, particularly the inclusion of private companies and nuclear energy’s role in the clean energy mix of the country.
On the other hand, experts have warned of the safety risks associated with nuclear energy development in the country.
Interestingly, the announcements came with a reduction in the overall budget of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) by Rs 402 crore in 2025-26 and a reduction in the budget of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) by Rs 472 crore.
The DAE is the nodal department for all nuclear energy related exploration, research, development and implementation and the NPCIL is the only nuclear energy generation company in India.
Under the Nuclear Energy Mission for Viksit Bharat, Sitharaman, in her budget speech 2025-26, said there would be “development of at least 100 GW of nuclear energy by 2047” which “is essential for our energy transition efforts”.
India’s nuclear energy generation capacity in 2024 was 8.18 gigawatts (GW) up from 4.78 GW in 2014, according to a response in the Lok Sabha by Jitendra Singh, minister of state for the DAE, on December 11, 2024.
This means that the capacity less than doubled in 10 years. Even then, nuclear energy contributes 2 per cent of the country’s energy mix currently.
He had projected India’s nuclear energy generation capacity to be at 22.48 GW by 2031-32. This would be an increase of capacity by 2.75 times in a span of 8 years.
If Sitharaman’s vision for 2047 has to come true, India’s nuclear energy generation capacity has to make a leap of almost five-fold increase in a matter of 15 years from 2032 to 2047.
Singh had stated the reasons for the increase in India’s nuclear energy generation capacity from 2014 to 2024 as “the bulk approval of 10 reactors, increased funding allocations, collaborations with Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), and limited private sector participation.”
He further “credited advancements in technology and streamlined administrative processes for strengthening India’s nuclear infrastructure.”
To encourage private sector participation in developing nuclear energy generation capacity in the country which would perhaps help make the vision a reality, Sitharaman announced that “amendments to the Atomic Energy Act and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act will be taken up.”
The Atomic Energy Act of 1962 informs and details that only a government company “in which not less than fifty one percent of the paid up share capital is held by the Central Government”, shall take up any exploration of nuclear raw materials, research, development or implementation in the nuclear/atomic energy sector in the country.
Even more glaringly, the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA) 2010 was enacted “with a view to provide prompt compensation to the victims for damage caused by a nuclear incident through a no-fault liability regime”, according to the DAE.
The CLNDA was further enacted to make India a state party to the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC), as per the DAE.
The CSC “aims at establishing a minimum national compensation amount and at further increasing the amount of compensation through public funds to be made available by the Contracting Parties should the national amount be insufficient to compensate the damage caused by a nuclear incident”, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a United Nations organisation that works with its Member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies.
The push for private investments in the nuclear energy sector in India has been around for quite some time. In February 2024, the Reuters news agency had reported that India is seeking a US$26 billion investment from five private energy companies including Reliance Industries, Tata Power, Adani Power and Vedanta.
The money was aimed at adding an additional 11 GW of nuclear energy generation capacity by 2040, as per the Reuters report. This addition would still mean a significant contribution from the public sector nuclear energy company NPCIL to meet the 100 GW goal by 2047.
In addition to the involvement of private companies and the amendments to the nuclear energy related acts, Sitharaman also announced that “a Nuclear Energy Mission for research & development of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) with an outlay of Rs 20,000 crore will be set up. At least 5 indigenously developed SMRs will be operationalised by 2033.”
Harjeet Singh, the founding director of the Satat Sampada Climate Foundation raised concerns over the Union Budget 2025-26’s focus on expanding nuclear power, highlighting its risks and urging the government to instead invest in scaling up safer renewable energy alternatives.
“The government’s commitment to clean energy is a welcome step. However, nuclear power comes with significant safety, waste management, and security risks. Instead of prioritising risky and expensive nuclear expansion, India should focus on rapidly scaling up safe, proven renewable energy sources like wind and solar—offering a more sustainable, cost-effective, and decentralised path to energy security,” said Singh.
Arvind Poswal, Programme Officer, Renewable Energy, Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, said: “While the vision of 100 GW nuclear energy generation capacity by 2047 is a big ticket announcement, it is too far in the future to have any real impact in the present. Instead there could have been more focus on other immediate issues with the renewable energy (RE) sector in the country. Such as towards enhancing generation and transmission of RE based electricity, a scheme dedicated to renewable energy for agriculture sector, or even just increased allocation for some existing schemes.”