Creating legal framework for private players in nuclear sector: AEC Chairman Mohanty

New Delhi, Sep 16 (PTI) India is creating an enabling legal framework to encourage active participation of private players in the nuclear sector, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Ajit Kumar Mohanty said on Tuesday.

Addressing the 69th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, he said India has launched the Nuclear Energy Mission with a target to increase its nuclear power capacity to 100 GW by 2047.

Currently, India operates 24 nuclear power reactors with a cumulative capacity of 8,190 MWe and plans to raise it to 22 GW by 2032.

Mohanty said to achieve the goal of 100 GW by 2047, India has been undertaking strategic policy interventions and making infrastructure investments with an emphasis on the development and deployment of indigenous nuclear technologies and public-private collaborations.

"To encourage active participation of the private sector in this transformative initiative, the Government of India is also creating an enabling legal framework in the nuclear sector," he said.

The Atomic Energy Commission chairman said the government has allocated more than USD 2 billion for research and development on Small Modular Reactors with a plan for at least five indigenously designed and operational SMRs by 2033.

Mohanty said that during 2024-25, the power plants of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) achieved a Plant Load Factor of 87 per cent. "For the first time in its operational history, the nuclear power plants of NPCIL have generated 50 billion units in the last financial year," he said.

Mohanty said the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre was committed to developing a light water-based 200 MWe Bharat SMR, a 55 MWe SMR and a High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor for clean hydrogen production by integrating it with a thermochemical plant.

The Fast Breeder Test Reactor built by Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) has completed 34 irradiation campaigns at the target power of 40 MWt, he said.

The Demonstration Facility for recycling of Fast Reactor Spent Fuel was also successfully operated, Monhanty said.

"India firmly believes that ensuring the safety and security of nuclear and radiological materials is a core responsibility of all member states. India affirms its support to the Agency in its resolve to provide a robust, sustainable and visible global nuclear safety and security framework," he added. PTI SKU NSD NSD