The Government of India has proposed the Sustainable Harnessing of Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, opening the nuclear energy sector to private investment for the first time.
The bill will being debated in Parliament. The opposition Congress party is expected to back the move, having supported the 2008 nuclear agreement when it formed the government. With the current Bharatiya Janata Party and its coalition partners holding majorities in both houses of parliament, passage of the bill appears likely.
Currently the country operates 25 nuclear reactors with a combined capacity of just 8.8 gigawatts. All are run by the state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd.(NPCIL)
India aims to increase nuclear power capacity tenfold to 100 gigawatts by 2047. This expansion aligns with India’s vision of achieving developed-nation status by mid-century.
Achieving this target will require approximately $214 billion in cumulative capital. Private sector participation is expected to bring abundant funding, efficiency, and innovation, accelerating construction timelines and boosting technological adoption.
India’s move mirrors global trends, with countries such as Japan, the UK, China, and South Korea reinvesting in nuclear power to meet decarbonization goals, and the rising electricity demand driven by digital infrastructure and AI growth.
To attract foreign firms, India plans to allow up to 49% foreign ownership in nuclear plants and amend liability laws that previously discouraged international participation.
In the meantime, that National Thermal Power Corporation the country’s largest fossil fuel utility, has announced plans to invest $62 billion over the next 20 years to build 30 GW of nuclear capacity. The company is also exploring small modular reactors (SMRs) as replacements for aging coal plants, issuing India’s first tender for feasibility studies in this area.
SMRs are seen as part the future of nuclear power. They promise to be simpler, faster, and more cost-effective to build than conventional reactors, with the flexibility to be deployed on smaller sites and scaled incrementally to meet rising demand.
These historic moves should be of great interest to companies from all over the world.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
