Overview
- India’s Atomic Energy Commission approved a new foreign investment policy on Friday at a New Delhi workshop, sending it into ministerial consultations under the SHANTI Act framework.
- Officials said the policy is meant to implement the SHANTI Act, a law that lets licensed private firms enter civil nuclear projects by easing liability rules.
- DAE’s Seema S Jain estimated about Rs 20 lakh crore will be needed to hit 100 GW by 2047 and urged innovative funding and “fleet mode” builds where several reactors share one site to cut costs and approvals.
- CEA chief Ghanshyam Prasad called for trimming project cycles from about 13 years to 8–9 years and for lowering tariffs at new plants, now around Rs 5.50–6.50 per unit, to improve viability.
- NTPC’s Gurdeep Singh said private interest has cooled since the law passed, noted hesitance among about 14 states to host sites, and outlined NTPC’s plan to develop roughly 30 GW as DAE prioritises indigenising Light Water Reactor technology and fuel processes to reduce supplier dependence.