India's parliament passes bill to open nuclear power to private firms

Science

by AFP Staff Writers

New Delhi (AFP) Dec 18, 2025

India’s parliament on Thursday passed legislation to open nuclear power generation to private companies as part of the government’s ambitious plan to nearly triple clean energy production within six years.

India is the third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, and remains deeply dependent on polluting coal, which accounts for 75 percent of the country’s total power generation, to meet its soaring energy demand.

Power blackouts are common in the world’s most populous nation, and demand is rising quickly as the economy grows and the middle class expands.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the legislation “marks a transformational moment for our technology landscape” and also opens “numerous opportunities” for the private sector.

“From safely powering AI to enabling green manufacturing, it delivers a decisive boost to a clean-energy future for the country and the world,” Modi said in a statement, adding this was “the ideal time to invest, innovate and build in India”.

At present, India’s state-run Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL) operates the country’s nuclear power plants.

“The government has initiated steps to increase nuclear power capacity, from the current 8,180 MW to 22,480 MW by 2031-32”, India’s Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) said in February.

“This expansion includes the construction and commissioning of 10 reactors, totalling 8,000 MW,” it added.

Six other 1208-MW plants with US support already have in-principle approval.

In 2006, India and the United States signed a landmark nuclear deal under which New Delhi agreed to place its civilian atomic reactors under global scrutiny for the first time.

The government aims to reach 100 GW nuclear power capacity by 2047, “positioning nuclear energy as a major pillar in India’s energy mix”, the DAE has said.

– Radioactive waste –

India emitted 4.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent — a measure of all planet-warming greenhouse gases — in 2024, according to the UN, behind only China and the United States.

However, with 1.4 billion people, its per capita emissions and historical contributions to global warming are much smaller.

India has committed to net-zero emissions by 2070, and is on track to meet and exceed its pledge to reduce emission intensity by 45 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.

Nuclear-armed India is not a signatory to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

The new legislation is dubbed “SHANTI” — peace in Hindi — an acronym for Sustainable Harnessing of Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India.

India has one of the world’s largest reserves of thorium — a nuclear fuel that is safer to use than uranium.

Opposition parties have raised concerns about some provisions of the legislation, saying it does not provide a robust framework on dealing with radioactive waste.

The legislation was approved by the lower house of parliament on Wednesday.

Concerns about radiation leaks and impact on livelihoods have previously led to protests by fishermen around the Kundankulam power plant in southern state of Tamil Nadu, built with Russian help.

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