The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has outlined a roadmap to expand India’s nuclear power capacity from the current 8.88 GW to 100 GW by 2047.
The plan envisions a tenfold increase in 22 years, requiring an average capacity addition of around 4.14 GW per year. According to the CEA, India’s proven research, engineering, and execution capabilities make the goal achievable, though the path ahead will require coordinated action across multiple fronts. The roadmap recommends continuing the three-stage nuclear programme to utilise domestic thorium reserves, maintaining pressurised heavy water reactor technology as the mainstay for the next decade, and expediting the adoption and indigenisation of pressurised water reactor and imported technologies. It also proposes the use of large reactors for grid-scale applications and small modular reactors for captive generation, with future designs supporting flexible operation. Further, the CEA has suggested amendments to the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, including capping supplier liability within contractual terms, rewording section 46 to remove civil liability under other laws, and redefining the term “supplier” to focus solely on providers of critical nuclear equipment.