New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met a high-level delegation of the US nuclear industry, comprising representatives of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), leading US companies, and the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum here on Tuesday.

During the meeting, the Finance Minister emphasised that technology collaborations and strategic partnerships can serve as critical drivers of innovation and resilience in India’s nuclear ecosystem, and encouraged the participants to actively explore opportunities for engagement and long-term collaboration in this domain.

Referring to recent policy initiatives aimed at encouraging global participation in India’s nuclear sector, she informed the delegation that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of up to 49 per cent is now permitted in nuclear power projects.

Sitharaman also highlighted the country’s landmark Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act, outlining the reforms introduced under this framework. These reforms are expected to accelerate India’s clean energy transition, deepen technology partnerships, and enhance investment flows into the country’s nuclear ecosystem.

Meanwhile, India is poised to become the second country in the world, after Russia, to operate a commercial-level fast breeder reactor as the indigenously designed 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu achieved first criticality on April 6. With this achievement, India moves toward leveraging its vast thorium reserves in the third stage of the country’s nuclear strategy.

Currently, Russia is the only country operating commercial fast breeder reactors (FBRs), with India in the advanced stage of commissioning its own. While several nations have historically developed or operated experimental fast reactors — specifically the USA, the UK, France, Japan, Germany, and China – most of these programmes are currently shut down.

Nuclear energy is expected to play a crucial role in India’s clean energy transition and long-term sustainability goals, particularly in achieving the target of 100 GW nuclear power capacity by 2047.

Initiatives such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), policy support, and the SHANTI Act, enabling greater participation of the private sector in scaling up India’s nuclear energy capacity, are aimed at speeding up the setting up of nuclear power generation capacity. Under the recently launched “Nuclear Mission”, with an allocation of Rs 20,000 crore, five SMRs are planned by 2033.

The SMRs will prove to be useful for captive power generation, particularly in industry, dense population zones, remote areas lacking grid connection, and repurposing thermal plants.

–IANS

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