Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: India has moved closer to opening its nuclear power sector to foreign investment, with the Atomic Energy Commission approving a new foreign direct investment (FDI) framework, an official indicated.Speaking at a workshop in Delhi recently, Seema S Jain, member (finance) from the Department of Atomic Energy, said the policy is part of a broader push to mobilise massive financing for increasing nuclear energy capacity. “The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) has approved the FDI policy, and it is going in for ministerial consultations,” she said. She also pointed to the advantages of a “fleet mode” approach, where multiple reactors are developed at a single site to speed up approvals and construction timelines.India has set a target of increasing its nuclear power capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2047, which will entail massive investment. Despite policy advancements, NTPC has witnessed lower-than-expected interest from private companies, indicating challenges in bringing in outside capital. The proposed FDI policy, supported by the recently-enacted SHANTI Act 2025, aims at securing up to Rs 20 lakh crore in investment from foreign players to accelerate building of nuclear reactors.Last year on Dec 21, the Act was enacted and notified as a single, coherent legislation, with enabling provisions for private sector participation to carry out research and innovations for peaceful application of nuclear energy under license and safety authorisation.The main reason for slow expansion of nuclear power capacity in India in the early days was the technology development phase that had to go through an international embargo and technology denial regime, coupled with limited availability of resources, the department of atomic energy said in a statement recently.
