In her Budget 2026 speech in February, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a continued emphasis on India’s nuclear power mission with an outlay of ₹20,000 crore for research, design, development and deployment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today, Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Atomic Energy and Space said that Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) of the Ministry of Atomic Energy has done the design and development of these SMRs.
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According to the Ministry’s official statement, SMRs include:
- 220 MWe Bharat Small Modular Reactor (BSMR-200),
- 55 MWe Small Modular Reactor (SMR-55), a
- Up to 5 MWth High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor (HTGCR) designed for hydrogen production.
- “Lead units of these SMRs will be set up at DAE plants to demonstrate the technology,” he added.
Nuclear Power Mission: Breakdown of Expenditure Allocation
The DAE also provided an estimated allocation of funds to BARC for the establishment of these SMRs:
ReactorExpenditure on costs Development and construction of the BSMR-200 ₹5,960 million Development and construction of SMR-55 (2 units) ₹7,000 crore Design and Construction of HTGCR ₹320 crore Design, engineering and development work for new reactors ₹800 crore Development of civil and general infrastructure for the reactor complex ₹452 croreSource: Ministry of Atomic Energy
What is the progress so far?
The minister noted the following progress in his Lok Sabha reply:
- BSMR-200: In principle, the project was approved by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). It also approved a proposal for an administrative and financial sanction to be submitted to the government committee.
- SMR-55: The project was approved in principle.
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- HTGCR: The project has been approved in principle. A Detailed Project Report (DPR) was prepared. Consent to Location and Terms of Reference (ToR) has been received from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MEF&CC) for environmental clearance.
SMRs are developed indigenously: Atomic Energy Department
The statement further said that the Bharat Small Modular Reactor (BSMR) is being jointly designed and developed by BARC and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL). “The estimated construction time of the BSMR is 60 to 72 months from the receipt of administrative and financial approval,” the minister said.
Furthermore, a special material called “Advanced Purified Reactor Vessel Alloy” (ApuRVA) and the technology required for forging the pressure vessels of the BSMR-200 and SMR-55 reactors; and the control rod drive mechanism were developed in collaboration with Indian industry.
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“The technology required to deploy these reactors is available in the country. Most of the equipment is within the manufacturing capabilities of Indian industry with the technological hand-holding of BARC. Therefore, Indian industry will be engaged in manufacturing the equipment,” Singh said in his reply.
Nuclear Power Generation — Latest Update
Responding to another question on nuclear power generation, Singh said India imported a total of 18842.60 MT of uranium in the form of uranium ore concentrate, natural UO2 pellets and enriched UO2 pellets from FY09 to FY25, under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguard.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today, the minister said discussions are underway with technology partners from the US to arrive at a viable project proposal. “Construction of the project will begin with the completion of the project design and its approval by the government,” he said.
Nuclear power plan to reach 100 GW capacity
In his reply, Singh said the Center has formulated a plan to achieve 100 GW of nuclear power capacity from the current 8.78 GW (excluding RAPS-1). It is expected to reach around 22 GW by 2031-32 as projects are phased out.
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Further, after 2032, NPCIL is expected to set up an additional 32 GW of nuclear power, including indigenous pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs) and light water reactors (LWRs) with foreign collaboration by 2047, increasing the capacity to about 54 GW.
The balance of 46 GW is expected to be generated by other public sector undertakings (central and state), state governments, private sector and joint ventures in various business models involving reactors of various technologies.
India’s nuclear power generation capacity over the years
YearGeneration using imported fuel (millions of units)2009-1037042010-11111302011-12156372012-13139002013-14162192014-15186972015-16174692016-17192472 -18221342018-19205972019-20290032020-21266852021-22299292022-23276402023-24307632024-25391802025-25391802025- until January 202633815 Source: Department of Atomic Energy
All data according to Ministry of Atomic Energy as of March 11, 2026.
