The first two lead units of a 55 MW variant of the Bharat small modular reactor will be built at a Department of Atomic Energy site by 2033, Minister of State Jitendra Singh has told parliamentarians.

India is planning to expand nuclear capacity from 7 GW to 100 GW by 2047, with legislative changes, international partnerships and development of indigenous technology all set to play their part.

The India-based natural resources and technology conglomerate Vedanta is inviting companies to express interest in the construction and supply of 5000 MWe of nuclear power capacity.

The leaders of India and the USA have said their nations will work together towards the construction of large-scale US-designed nuclear reactors in India and facilitating further collaboration including the deployment small modular reactors.

Nuclear will play a crucial part in ensuring reliable supplies of clean energy - and collaboration will be the key to make it happen, according to panelists at the Indian government's flagship energy event.

French President Emmanuel Macron and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi have agreed a Declaration of Intent for establishing a partnership on advanced modular reactors and small modular reactors after talks in France. They also visited the multinational ITER nuclear fusion project.

Indian power companies Tata Power and the Naveen Jindal Group have each expressed interest in setting up small modular reactors. Meanwhile, the country's minister of railways has confirmed that nuclear power is under consideration to meet the growing power needs of the country's rail sector.

India's nuclear energy sector will benefit from the entry of private sector players in the same way that the country's space economy has done, Minister of State Jitendra Singh has said.

Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman promised federal funds for an initiative to develop at least five Indian-designed small modular reactors to be operational by 2033, as well as amendments to Indian legislation to encourage private sector participation, in the budget for 2025-2026.