India to open nuclear sector to private players: Jitendra Singh

Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh on Friday lauded the government’s decision to open the nuclear sector for private sector participation, emphasizing its pivotal role in strengthening India’s energy security.

Singh’s remarks came during a joint meeting with Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Parliament House in Delhi on Friday, where they discussed the country’s roadmap to achieve the 100 GW Nuclear Energy Mission.

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According to a press statement, the meeting focused on steps ahead for expanding the nuclear energy capacity from the current 8.8 GW to 22 GW by 2032, through the addition of 14 GW from various ongoing and upcoming projects.

Singh noted that to encourage widespread participation from industries towards the Bharat Small Modular Reactor (SMR) program, the Request for Proposal (RFP) submission deadline has been extended by three months, pushing it from 30 June 2025 to 30 September this year.

To expedite the progress of the mission, the ministers outlined several key directives, including streamlining regulatory clearances, standardizing documentation, optimizing processing timelines, emphasizing generic proposals, synchronizing licenses, and investing in technical upgradation and capacity building.

Singh added that, “The government’s commitment to handholding and creating awareness among private sector players, many of whom were pleasantly surprised by the opening of the nuclear sector to private participation.”

Senior officials present at the meeting included Ajit Kumar Mohanty, Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) & Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC); Pankaj Agrawal, Secretary, Power; Gurdeep Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of NTPC Limited; Bhuwan Chandra Pathak, Chairman and Managing Director of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL); along with other senior officials from the Departments of Power and Atomic Energy.