State-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), the only enterprise that builds and operates nuclear power plants in India, plans to invest at least Rs 6.6 lakh crore to build 50 gigawatts (GW) nuclear power capacity, which is half of the projected 100 GW capacity aimed by 2047. In the near term, the public sector enterprise under the Department of Atomic Energy has plans to invest at least Rs 2.7 lakh crore to build 22 GW worth capacity by 2032.
In an exclusive interaction with Moneycontrol, Bhuwan Chandra Pathak, the chairman and managing director of NPCIL said the company’s workforce of 11,000 will be increased manifold in the coming years, and recruitment for 2,000 posts are currently underway. Pathak called upon India’s youth to join NPCIL to contribute to the National Nuclear Energy Mission, announced in the Union Budget this year.
Pathak said due to the sensitivity and safety parameters involving nuclear projects, land acquisition and pre-project activities can take as long as five years. Hence, going forward, NPCIL said it will to build nuclear power hubs with large number of reactors at a single site, in an effort to also bring down cost.
The mainstay of India’s nuclear power programme will be the indigenous 700 MW pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs), Pathak said, making the mission the ‘truest example of Atmanirbhar Bharat’. India is pursuing a unique, sequential three-stage nuclear power programme, he added, which essentially means that initially Uranium will be used as a primary fuel, and eventually, NPCIL will move to using Thorium.
Edited excerpts:
Currently, NPCIL is taking 5-10 years to build even one unit of a plant. At this pace, how do we plan to scale up from 8,880 MW to 100 GW by 2047?
We will have to look back to answer this. India faced a technology denial and international embargo regime from 1974 to 2008. As a result, all the technologies for nuclear power including the fuel cycle technologies had to be developed within the country, coupled with limited availability of resources. All this took significant time. The nuclear power reactors set up in the country initially were of unit size of about 220 MW, consistent with the prevalent grid capacity. With the increase in grid capacity, the unit size of nuclear power plants set up was also increased to 540 MW and now to 700 MW. In addition, we also now have two operational reactors of 1000 MW capacity each.
Also Read: Business barons go nuclear in the race for power
Coming to how we plan to expedite capacity addition from hereon - NPCIL is adopting a ‘fleet mode’ approach, wherein we are going to build multiple reactors simultaneously to reduce project timelines. Besides, streamlined procurement, global collaborations and technological advancements are also being leveraged for faster capacity addition.
What kind of investment is NPCIL looking at?
We are going to invest at least Rs 2.7 lakh crore for the 22 GW capacity addition planned by 2032.
For 50 GW, the amount would be difficult to state as it would depend on the number of reactors we finally decide upon. But let me give you an idea, at present, it costs us Rs 16 crore to build 1 megawatt (MW) of nuclear capacity. So, at least Rs 6.6 lakh crore, but it will be more than that because cost escalation and other things will also have to be factored in.
What is the scale of human resources that would be needed in NPCIL?
Currently, we have a workforce of around 11,000 employees. It won’t be out of context if the estimate touches several times the existing strength, to meet the ambitious target of generating 50 GW of the electricity using nuclear power by the year 2047. Usually, we need about 800-1,000 employees for a set of two reactors.
India’s nuclear renaissance has begun and it is a huge employment opportunity. I would like appeal the youth of the country to come forward and join NPCIL for a challenging, progressive and fulfilling career.
Also Read: NPCIL to add 1,400 MW nuclear power capacity this year: CMD Bhuwan Chandra Pathak
We are currently, actively hiring and the latest executive trainee recruitment drive (2025) is already underway. As we speak, about 700 fresh recruits pertaining to different categories are undergoing training, while recruitment process for 2,000 posts is under different stages.
To what extent are we importing components for nuclear power plants?
Development of nuclear power technology by NPCIL has been truly an indigenous effort in all aspects and the 700 MW indigenous PHWRs are shining example of Atmanirbhar Bharat. The material, components, services, all are sourced from within the country. The latest reactor is not only among the safest in the globe but also is most economical one. Our mainstay for nuclear power expansion will be these 700 MW PHWRs.
India is pursuing a unique, sequential three-stage nuclear power programme based on indigenous technologies to optimally utilise India’s nuclear energy resources and ensure long term energy security.
Are there foreign collaborations in talks, and also, will the tariffs levied by US have any impact on India’s nuclear capacity plans?
Yes, as additionalities, we are also implementing large capacity reactors with foreign collaborations for faster addition of the installed capacity base. For example, we are operating two units at Kudankulam, each of 1000 MW capacity, which have been established with the cooperation of Russian Federation. Four more such units at the same location are under advance stage of construction.
In addition, many countries are showing interest to collaborate on expansion of nuclear power in India. Further, we have entered into a MoU on collaborations in Nuclear Power sector with ENEC, UAE.
About the US, on the contrary, we have strong ties with the US with regard to nuclear power. We are in talks with the US to collaborate for 1000 MW reactors for our Kovvada plant in Andhra Pradesh. The same is with France, we are in talks for reactors for our Jaitapur site in Maharashtra.
What are going to be the biggest challenges in India’s nuclear power journey?
There are many interconnected factors which would have impact on the progress. These relate to challenges with suitable land availability and its acquisition, public perception, financing, industry readiness, availability of skilled workforce etc. Land and pre-project activities alone take about 5 years. Thereafter, NPCIL has now set a benchmark of connecting reactors to the grid in 63 months.
As far as our 22 GW capacity plan is concerned, we have the land for those reactors and pre-project activities are already in progress. So, we won’t take five years for this.
Now that we have an ambitious target, we have decided that our strategy would be to pick large sites, so we can have 6-8 reactors at one place. It will help bring down the cost also because we will be sharing various facilities, especially human resources, finance and maybe some other technical facilities.
The mission will be a collaborative effort since soon, private enterprises will also have a role, especially for their own, captive use in hard-to-abate sectors, which is where the 200 MW Bharat Small Reactors (BSRs) will come into play.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
