India’s leading business groups are increasing their focus on nuclear energy, exploring international collaborations and small modular reactors to meet rising demand and achieve national ambitious clean energy targets by 2047.
India’s nuclear power sector is drawing fresh attention from some of the country’s biggest business groups as they look for firm, low-carbon power for energy-hungry operations. According to Business Today, Reliance, Adani, Tata Power, JSW and Jindal Nuclear Power have begun talks with suppliers in the US, France, South Korea, Russia and Japan, with small modular reactors emerging as the main point of interest. The appeal is clear: large industrial users want dependable electricity that can also help them meet net-zero pledges.
The timing matters because India is trying to widen the role of nuclear power in its energy mix. The Indian Express reported that the government’s long-term ambition is to lift nuclear capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2047, with small modular reactors and thorium-based systems part of that push. That target reflects rising demand from data centres, semiconductor plants and artificial intelligence infrastructure, all of which need round-the-clock power.
At the same time, private companies are weighing whether older domestic technology may be more practical for an initial project than newer designs still being developed overseas. The Week reported that some firms favour the 220 megawatt pressurised heavy water reactor, or PHWR, because India has decades of experience with the design and a supply chain already exists. But Business Today said no new 220 megawatt PHWR unit has been installed since 2011, while the Nuclear Power Corporation of India is working on an updated version branded as the Bharat Small Reactor, or BSR, with changes including a steel liner and upgraded control and instrumentation systems.
Cost is another major factor. Business Today reported that imported reactors can average about 35 crore rupees per megawatt, which would put a 2,000 megawatt plant at roughly 70,000 crore rupees. By contrast, a pair of 220 megawatt units could cost far less, and industry sources quoted by the publication said large companies may prefer starting with smaller reactors of less than 300 megawatts before moving up to larger units. That approach would also reduce operational risk: if one unit goes offline for maintenance, the others can keep supplying most of the power. Business Standard has reported that India is also considering policy changes to open the sector to proven foreign reactor technologies and private participation, though it noted that licensing and approval rules could still slow adoption.
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