{"id":119366,"date":"2026-08-16T10:43:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T05:13:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=119366"},"modified":"2026-08-16T12:47:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T07:17:09","slug":"pm-modis-100-gw-nuclear-target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/pm-modis-100-gw-nuclear-target\/","title":{"rendered":"PM Modi&#8217;s 100 GW Nuclear Target: Powering India&#8217;s AI and Chip Future by 2047"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>100 GW Nuclear Target Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In his Independence Day address, PM Modi set a target of expanding India&#8217;s nuclear power capacity to 100 GW by 2047, along with commissioning five new nuclear reactors within the current decade.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This comes as India bets on nuclear power to meet the rapidly rising electricity demand from emerging sectors like semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), and data centres<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Why India Needs More Nuclear Power<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PM Modi highlighted that the growing adoption of future technologies would sharply increase electricity demand: &#8220;It will be difficult to run this new world without energy&#8230; whether it is chips, AI or data centres, we will need very large amounts of electricity.&#8221;\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nuclear power is being positioned as a carbon-neutral, reliable baseload source to meet this demand alongside the growing renewable energy mix.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Policy Backdrop: The SHANTI Act<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PM Modi&#8217;s announcement follows Parliament&#8217;s passage of the SHANTI Act last year, which:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Opens the door to wider private participation in India&#8217;s tightly regulated civil nuclear power sector.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Has drawn interest from global nuclear technology suppliers from Russia, the US, and France.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) recently released draft rules under the Act, laying out the regulatory framework for private participation, captive generation, licensing, safety oversight, and nuclear liability.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Two-Pronged Strategy: Large Reactors + SMRs<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To achieve the 100 GW target by 2047, the government is pursuing a two-pronged approach:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Large-capacity reactors \u2014 continuing to expand conventional nuclear capacity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) \u2014 for faster, more flexible deployment.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Why SMRs Matter<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India&#8217;s indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) will remain the backbone of nuclear expansion, but SMRs are gaining importance for industrial decarbonisation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SMRs offer flexible baseload power, helping grid operators balance the variability of large-scale renewable energy integration.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">High costs of large Light Water Reactors (LWRs) have raised questions about their large-scale feasibility, making SMRs the focal point of India&#8217;s international nuclear collaborations.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In May 2026, a high-level American nuclear delegation was briefed on India&#8217;s plans to enter the SMR manufacturing value chain.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India&#8217;s Indigenous SMR Programme<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is developing three types of SMRs for demonstration:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bharat Small Modular Reactor (BSMR-200) \u2014 200 MWe<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A 55 MWe small modular reactor<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A 5 MWt high-temperature gas-cooled reactor for hydrogen production via thermochemical coupling<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Target:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> At least five indigenously designed and operational SMRs by 2033.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Nuclear Energy Mission, with a budgetary outlay of \u20b920,000 crore, has been launched for research, design, development, and deployment of SMRs.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government is also studying the repurposing of old thermal power plant sites for nuclear use, particularly suited for SMRs and smaller nuclear projects.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Current Status of India&#8217;s Nuclear Sector<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">25 operational reactors, totalling 8.7 GWe capacity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10 reactors under construction, adding around 8 GWe.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10 more units in the pre-project stage, with approximately 6.6 GWe capacity.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India&#8217;s Three-Stage Nuclear Programme<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India follows a three-stage nuclear power programme aimed at achieving long-term fuel self-reliance, leveraging its abundant thorium reserves:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Stage 1:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> PHWRs using natural uranium as fuel.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Stage 2:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) use the plutonium generated from Stage 1&#8217;s spent fuel, combined with depleted uranium, to convert Thorium-232 (Th-232) into Uranium-233 (U-233).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Stage 3:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Th-232 is converted into U-233, which becomes fuel for advanced reactors \u2014 completing the shift toward thorium-based self-reliance.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FBRs serve as the crucial bridge between Stages 1 and 3, enabling India to tap its thorium resources.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Recent Milestone<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In April 2026, India&#8217;s first indigenous fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam attained criticality \u2014 a major milestone.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PM Modi noted: &#8220;This year, India crossed an important milestone by mastering fast breeder nuclear technology&#8230; a major step towards achieving self-reliance in nuclear fuel.&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India&#8217;s 100 GW nuclear ambition reflects a broader recognition that the AI-driven digital economy demands massive, reliable, carbon-neutral power.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By combining indigenous thorium-based self-reliance with SMR innovation and private participation, India aims to position nuclear energy as a cornerstone of both its technological future and climate commitments.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-economics\/india-nuclear-power-100-gw-target-smr-2047-10834828\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PM Modi\u2019s 100 GW nuclear target by 2047 aims to power India\u2019s AI, chip and data centre growth through SMRs, SHANTI Act and nuclear expansion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":119401,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[9562,60,22,59],"class_list":["post-119366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","tag-100-gw-nuclear-target","tag-mains-articles","tag-upsc-current-affairs","tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs-tag","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119366"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119404,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119366\/revisions\/119404"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}