What happened

The Department of Atomic Energy has placed India's Nuclear Energy Mission at the centre of the country's long-term power strategy. The mission, announced in the Union Budget 2025–26, seeks to build 100 GWe of nuclear power capacity by 2047 and to support the broader goals of Viksit Bharat and net zero carbon emissions by 2070.

The mission also prioritises indigenous reactor development. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has been working on the 220 MWe Bharat Small Modular Reactor (BSMR-200), the 55 MWe Small Modular Reactor (SMR-55), and an up to 5 MWth High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor (HTGCR) intended as a heat source for hydrogen-production pathways.

Background and earlier position

India has expanded nuclear power through the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and the country has relied mainly on indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) and imported or externally assisted Light Water Reactors (LWR). Nuclear power has remained a small but strategically important part of India's electricity mix because it offers steady baseload generation and low operational carbon emissions.

Before the new mission, India's nuclear expansion was largely driven by public-sector institutions and state-controlled project pipelines. Private participation in the core nuclear sector remained limited because of the strategic nature of the industry, the regulatory structure, and the sensitivity of nuclear safety and liability questions.

Related current affairs