India's nuclear energy push needs a policy overhaul, not just a power plan

Time of India

15 hours ago

India's renewed quest for nuclear power is a political call, not just because of the legislative push it requires for amending relevant laws to enable the entry of private players and ease the onus of liability but also for the new ecosystem that will have to be created to drive this forward.
This will require recasting a truly coveted set-up built around developing an indigenous credible nuclear deterrent, where producing electricity serves as an important front, to one where making power will have to become a strategic goal by itself. After all, the target is 1,800 GW power capacity by 2047, of which 250 GW is planned to be nuclear.
At present, India is just producing a little over 8 GW, which means executing a massive leap that cannot be done under the existing systems where all functions, from regulating to producing and waste management, are with the
Department of Atomic Energy
, which tightly controls the entire ecosystem for strategic reasons. The
Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd
, which runs the civilian programme, is also a DAE entity.
This approach stems from the fact that Indian scientists had to build the n-weapons programme in utter secrecy, outside the non-proliferation treaty and against all odds posed by an India-targeted technology denial regime. This achievement eventually forced the US to shift its policy and recognise India's weapons programme through the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Now is the time to take advantage of the avenues of expansion in the power sector. Telecom, which is also a sensitive sector, was opened up under a regulatory system. A TRAI-like model may be a good starting point to set up an independent Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, which will oversee the entire sector that's going to span across departments of power and atomic energy.
Suggestions like setting up a
Nuclear Energy Mission
under a Cabinet Secretary-led apex inter-ministerial committee, which can carry out this transition, may be a good starting point. Essentially, what's being attempted is to establish a mechanism for nuclear energy conversations with private and foreign players through the power ministry. Also, an independent
radioactive waste management
authority will be needed to build confidence in this ecosystem.
The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has recently passed a bill called the
International Nuclear Energy Act of 2025
, which seeks to amend 2005 US Energy Policy Act to include provisions that will actively promote the "fullest utilization of the reactors, fuel, equipment, services and technology US nuclear energy companies in civil nuclear programmes outside the country".
The bill has carved out a special category for "allies and partners" with whom the US will foster a special collaborative relationship, including financing for "research, development, licencing and deployment of
advanced nuclear reactor technologies
for civil nuclear energy".
The term 'partner' has been included only for India as it's not an ally. In fact, it's the only country named in the bill as a partner nation alongside allies. China along with Russia and Iran are among the countries put in the list of countries specifically excluded from cooperation under this proposed Act.
While this puts India on a strong footing, the bill has a section devoted to India that seeks to set up a joint consultative mechanism which will submit a report every six months on the implementation of the programme in India. It also requires that partner countries have acceptable legal frameworks for liability, radioactive waste management, licensing systems for advanced reactors, among other things.
At a broader level, the revamp is necessary to take advantage of these shifts to revive this sector. But from an India standpoint, it also requires a mindset shift to develop an ecosystem that legally and institutionally promotes, not deters, the growth of nuclear power - a task envisaged but unfinished from the nuclear deal.