The Chintan Research Foundation (CRF) and Finovista, in association with Manthan - an initiative of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India - organised a Policy Dialogue on "Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) for Defence Manufacturing & Data Centre Operation" in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The dialogue brought together policymakers, industry leaders, and experts to discuss the role of small modular reactors in supporting India's energy transition and strengthening critical sectors such as defence manufacturing and data centres.
The Centre Head, Centre for Climate Change and Energy Transition in Chintan Research Foundation, Dr Debajit Palit, spoke to NDTV on the outcome of the Policy Dialogue.
He said small modular reactors can prove to be an important low-carbon clean energy source for India.
He further said that defence manufacturing and data centres require an uninterrupted power supply. Therefore, small modular reactors will be a crucial source of uninterrupted power supply for defence manufacturing and data centres.
"In the Union Budget 2025-26, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had made a total budgetary provision of Rs 20,000 crore for the research, design, development, and deployment of small modular reactors, " he said, adding that the expansion and growth of the nuclear energy sector will be crucial to India's development as a developed nation by 2047.
India's target is to achieve 100 gigawatts of nuclear power capacity by 2047. Small modular reactors could account for 20 to 25 GW of this capacity.
An ecosystem for small modular reactors is being developed, he said, adding that developing a market ecosystem will be crucial for this.
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre is developing the design and technology for small modular reactors in the country, he added.
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