India working on small modular reactors, says Science & Technology Minister

India is working on cutting-edge technology like compact modular reactors that can be manufactured in a factory and help in the transition to sustainable energy, Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said here.

In an interview with a leading news agency, Singh said that the the government had opened up the nuclear power sector for joint ventures with public sector undertakings but not for the private sector.

Small Modular Reactors (SMR), which have a capacity of up to 300 MW, are adaptable in their design and demand a lower area.

According to a recent NITI Aayog report, global regulatory harmonisation, the development of the manufacturing ecosystem, and the influx of both public and private capital would be the key to the growth of the SMR industry as many SMR designs were in various stages of research, development, and licensing in various countries.

“We are already working on it. I think as times come, we have to move with the global world. SMR may become the order of the day. We are open to these new technologies and we are also adapting to them very fast,” Singh said.

For the first time, the minister claimed, the Modi administration has approved a plan to construct 10 nuclear reactors in “fleet mode”.

The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and the NPCIL signed a supplemental joint venture agreement earlier this month to build two 700 MW pressurised heavy water reactors at Chutka in Madhya Pradesh and and four 700 MW PHWRs at Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan.