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Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar recently urged states, particularly those distant from coal resources, to explore the possibility of establishing nuclear-based power plants. This call comes as part of the governments broader strategy to meet growing electricity demand and diversify power generation sources. Khattar also emphasized the importance of identifying and listing power utilities on the stock exchange to attract necessary investments.
In the federal budget earlier this year, the government proposed partnering with private players to develop small nuclear reactors, aiming to boost electricity production from non-carbon-emitting sources. Khattar suggested that states consider setting up nuclear plants at locations where coal-based thermal plants have reached the end of their operational life.
Currently, India operates about 8 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear power capacity and has set an ambitious target to increase this to 20 GW by 2032. However, discussions with foreign nuclear plant builders, such as General Electric and Westinghouse, have been hindered by the country’s stringent nuclear compensation laws.
Additionally, Khattar called on states to focus on improving the transmission infrastructure to accommodate more renewable energy capacity, as part of India’s goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. The country also aims to reach 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030. |
