Govt Targets 100 GW Nuclear Capacity By 2047; Seeks US Collaboration: MoS Singh

New Delhi, May 19 (KNN) India is eyeing 100 gigawatt (GW) of nuclear capacity by 2047 and the recent reforms in the sector would open up new opportunities for global partnerships, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology and Atomic Energy Dr. Jitendra Singh said during discussions with an industry delegation from the US.

The US delegation comprising representatives from the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) held discussions with the Minister on May 18.

The discussion focused on exploring investment and collaboration opportunities in India's expanding nuclear energy sector.

India's Nuclear Ambitions

Singh said, “India aims to increase its nuclear power capacity from the present 8.8 GW to 100 GW by 2047 through a phased and carefully planned expansion strategy. India’s rapidly growing nuclear energy programme is creating major opportunities for global partnerships in manufacturing, technology cooperation, supply chain integration and advanced research.”

India has recently enacted the SHANTI Act, 2025 — a significant policy reform enabling greater private sector and foreign participation in the nuclear energy sector.

The minister noted, “The reform is expected to create a more enabling ecosystem for investment, industrial collaboration, manufacturing partnerships and technology cooperation aligned with India’s Nuclear Energy Mission.”

“The implementation framework under the Act is being finalised to further strengthen collaborative opportunities in the sector,” he added.

Small Modular Reactors and Advanced Technologies

“India is also moving ahead with plans for development of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), supported by an allocation of nearly Rs 20,000 crore, and there is significant scope for India–US collaboration in advanced areas such as micro-reactors, AI-enabled nuclear safety systems, scientific computing, nuclear energy modelling and institutional capacity building,” Singh said.

The discussions also reviewed progress on several ongoing bilateral initiatives, including the proposed Westinghouse AP1000 reactor project at Kovvada, cooperation under the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Energy Working Group (CNEWG), hydrogen production and integrated energy systems, machine learning and AI applications in nuclear technology, rare earth collaboration, and high-intensity superconducting proton accelerator technologies through Fermilab partnerships.

LIGO-India Project

The meeting also covered progress on the LIGO-India project, being jointly implemented by India's Departments of Atomic Energy and Science and Technology in collaboration with the US-based LIGO Laboratory and the National Science Foundation. Approved with a budgetary allocation of Rs 2,600 crore, the project is regarded as one of the most significant examples of advanced scientific collaboration between the two countries.

(KNN Bureau)