Govt plans sops for making small modular N-reactors

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₹1.97 trillion. Similarly, the ministry of new and renewable energy has come up with Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (Sight) programme for incentivizing the production of green hydrogen and electrolyzers with an outlay of over ₹17,000 crore. The second person said that before announcing the scheme, the government would look at having an India-made prototype ready.

“The first requirement is to build some kind of a prototype and then commercial-scale production will have to be looked at. Private players are very much interested in producing SMRs in India," the person added. Further, the government is also working on the regulatory aspect to ensure safeguards and safety aspects for usage and adoption of SMRs.

India is having bilateral talks with France, Russia, South Korea and the US for the required technologies and investments, said the first person mentioned above. Queries mailed to the department of atomic energy remained unanswered at press time. The push for nuclear power, which is considered to be a cleaner fuel or non-fossil fuel, comes in the backdrop of India’s ambitious net zero goals.

India has pledged to achieve net zero carbon emission by 2070. Currently, India’s installed nuclear power capacity stands at 7.48 GW and is expected to reach 22.28 GW by 2031. Union minister of state for atomic energy and space Jitendra Singh told Parliament in August that the government is exploring options of collaborating with other countries and taking up indigenous development of SMRs.