Onlykashmir.in News Desk
India is steadily scaling up its nuclear power programme as part of a broader strategy to strengthen long-term energy security and support sustained economic growth, backed by indigenous reactor technology and a decades-long planning horizon that officials say will play an increasingly central role in the country’s low-carbon energy transition.
The country currently operates 24 nuclear power reactors spread across seven sites, with a combined installed capacity of 8.78 gigawatts. Ten additional reactor units, together capable of generating 8,000 megawatts, are presently under construction, while preparatory work for ten more reactors is already underway, pointing to a substantial expansion of nuclear capacity over the coming decade. India has also signed Inter-Governmental Agreements with 18 countries covering peaceful civil nuclear cooperation, underscoring the international dimension of its atomic energy ambitions.
To support the next generation of nuclear technology, the Union Government allocated ₹20,000 crore in the 2025-26 Budget specifically for the research, design, development and deployment of indigenous Small Modular Reactors. These compact reactor units are widely seen as central to India’s plans to diversify its energy mix while keeping deployment timelines and capital costs more manageable than traditional large-scale plants.
In a significant fuel security development, India and Australia finalised the Administrative Arrangement on July 9, paving the way for long-term exports of Australian uranium to India for peaceful purposes. All uranium supplied under the arrangement will remain under United Nations safeguards, addressing non-proliferation concerns while opening a reliable new source of fuel for India’s expanding reactor fleet. Australia has additionally reaffirmed its support for India’s bid to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a step that would further ease India’s access to global nuclear trade and technology.
The India-Australia Civil Nuclear Agreement is expected to strengthen India’s long-term fuel security, diversify its uranium import base beyond existing suppliers, and deepen the broader Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two nations in the Indo-Pacific region, where energy and strategic cooperation increasingly intersect.
