Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) could emerge as a critical pillar of India’s energy security strategy, supporting the country’s expanding defence manufacturing ecosystem and rapidly growing data centre sector, experts said at a policy dialogue in the national capital on Tuesday.
The Policy Dialogue on Small Modular Reactors for Defence Manufacturing and Data Centre Operation was jointly organised by the Chintan Research Foundation (CRF) and Finovista, in association with Manthan, an initiative led by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, at the India Habitat Centre.
The discussions focused on the increasing demand for reliable, clean and uninterrupted electricity in strategic sectors and examined the role of nuclear energy, particularly SMRs, in meeting India’s long-term energy requirements.
Delivering the keynote message of the event, Prof. R. Srikanth, Dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Engineering at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), stressed the central role of nuclear power in India’s energy transition.
“We cannot have energy transition without nuclear,” Prof. Srikanth said, underlining the need for a balanced energy mix to support economic growth while reducing carbon emissions.
In his address, CRF President Shishir Priyadarshi highlighted India’s rapidly rising future energy needs and said nuclear power would have an important role in meeting industrial and strategic demand.
He noted that while SMRs offer significant opportunities, questions relating to costs, fuel security, regulatory frameworks, deployment timelines, waste management and safety must be addressed to facilitate large-scale adoption.
Vimal Kumar, Co-Founder of Finovista, said SMRs have the potential to provide a reliable and precision-oriented electricity supply for defence manufacturing facilities.
He observed that deploying such reactors in emerging defence industrial corridors could significantly strengthen mission-critical operations that require uninterrupted power.
Former NTPC Parmanu Urja Nigam Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Prasenjit Pal, in his special address, argued that India’s target of achieving 100 GW of nuclear power capacity should now be viewed as a strategic necessity rather than a distant aspiration.
Highlighting the sector’s low carbon footprint, he said nuclear energy would be indispensable for strengthening India’s long-term energy security while supporting sustainable development goals.
Rajnish Kumar, Chief Operating Officer of the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, emphasised the growing importance of reliability, resilience and sovereignty in digital governance systems.
He said dependable and diversified energy sources would be crucial for ensuring the uninterrupted operation of critical digital infrastructure and e-governance platforms, adding that SMRs could play a significant role in providing stable power supplies for such systems.
A panel discussion chaired by Dr Debajit Palit, Centre Head of the Centre for Climate Change and Energy Transition at CRF, brought together experts from the nuclear energy, defence, digital infrastructure, finance and policy sectors.
The panel examined the role of SMRs in India’s low-carbon development pathway and discussed how nuclear power could complement renewable energy sources in addressing rising electricity demand and overcoming intermittency challenges.
A major focus of the discussion was the growing need for a high-quality power supply in strategic sectors. Experts noted that for defence manufacturing facilities, data centres and other mission-critical infrastructure, the challenge extends beyond generating adequate electricity to ensuring uninterrupted, resilient and reliable power delivery.
The panel highlighted that mission assurance and energy resilience are becoming increasingly important for strategic industries where even brief disruptions can have significant operational consequences.
The experts also discussed challenges facing SMR deployment in India, including high tariffs, financing requirements, public awareness issues and regulatory preparedness. They stressed the need for continued policy support, stakeholder engagement and robust regulatory frameworks to facilitate the responsible expansion of SMR technology.