India must overhaul its green finance frameworks and significantly expand its nuclear talent pipeline if it hopes to achieve its target of 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047, according to Abhay Karandikar, Member, NITI Aayog.
Speaking at the inaugural NuclearX Forum during Bharat Electricity 2026 at Yashobhoomi (IICC), Karandikar said policy reforms and human capital development will be critical for attracting both domestic and international investment into India’s civil nuclear sector. The forum, themed “Unlocking Investments for India’s 100 GW Civil Nuclear Ambition,” was organised by The Energy and Climate Initiatives Society (ENCIS), with the World Nuclear Association serving as Knowledge Partner and Invest India as Investment Facilitation Partner.
Karandikar highlighted that India’s key sustainable finance mechanisms, including sovereign green bonds, RBI green deposits, and SEBI’s green debt securities framework, currently exclude nuclear energy. He argued that these policies should be reviewed in light of evolving global financing trends, noting that institutions such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have begun recognising nuclear power’s role in the clean energy transition. Opening access to green finance, he said, could become a major catalyst for mobilising the large-scale investment required to expand India’s nuclear fleet.
Alongside financing reforms, Karandikar stressed the need to build a specialised nuclear workforce. He revealed that NITI Aayog has constituted a committee to develop a comprehensive roadmap for nuclear education and skill development across different levels of the sector, arguing that a strong talent pipeline will be essential for sustaining long-term growth in India’s nuclear industry.
Invest India Managing Director and CEO Nivruti Rai said India’s rapidly growing electricity demand is strengthening the case for nuclear power as a reliable source of baseload energy. She noted that the country’s data centre capacity is projected to rise from 1.7 GW to 10 GW by 2032, while large-scale green hydrogen projects will create substantial new electricity demand. Achieving the 100 GW target, she said, will require deeper indigenisation to reduce project costs by nearly 30%, alongside advances in technologies such as uranium enrichment and small modular reactors. Rai added that strong public-private partnerships and bold policy reforms could position India as the world’s third-largest nuclear power producer.
Central Electricity Authority Chairperson, Ghanshyam Prasad said India commissioned a record 64 GW of new power capacity last year and is targeting another 70 GW this year as electricity demand accelerates. For nuclear power specifically, he identified faster identification of reactor sites, reducing regulatory approval timelines to under 10 years and expanding skilled manpower as essential steps toward achieving the country’s long-term nuclear ambitions.
India currently operates 25 nuclear reactors with a combined capacity of approximately 8.8 GW across seven locations. With reactors under construction and additional projects planned, installed nuclear capacity is expected to reach nearly 22 GW by 2032. However, scaling to 100 GW by 2047 will require substantial investment, stronger supply chains, advanced reactor technologies and innovative financing models.
Former diplomat Ambassador Rakesh Sood, Distinguished Fellow at the Council for Strategic and Defence Research, said India’s nuclear expansion must balance strategic autonomy, resource security, technological innovation and public confidence. He argued that public acceptance and robust regulation will be as important as technological progress if nuclear power is to become a central pillar of India’s journey toward net-zero emissions by 2070.