The government on Wednesday informed Parliament that it has given bulk approval for the installation of ten nuclear reactors.

In a statement, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said the government has roped in PSUs for the installation of the nuclear reactors or the exercise would be done exclusively by the specialised government agencies.

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Jitendra Singh said the government has accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for ten indigenous Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors of 700 MW each in fleet mode, he said.

The government has amended the Atomic Energy Act in 2015 to enable the joint ventures of NPCIL with Public Sector Enterprises to set up nuclear power projects, he added. These reactors are planned to be set up in ‘fleet mode’ progressively by the year 2031 at a cost of Rs. 1,05,000 crores.

Jitendra Singh said the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) have jointly manufactured an earth science satellite named, NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar).

In another reply in the Lower House, the minister said that during 2021-22 nuclear power reactors generated 47112 Million Units of electricity, which comprises about 3.15% of the total electricity generated in the country.

He said the present installed nuclear power capacity is set to increase from 6780 MW to 22480 MW by 2031 on progressive completion of projects under construction and accorded sanction.  The government has also accorded ‘in principle’ approval for new sites to set up nuclear reactors in the future.