India is targeting 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing that the country is working towards starting five new nuclear reactors within the current decade as part of a broader push for energy security and self-reliance.
In his Independence Day address from the Red Fort, Modi said nuclear energy would be a major pillar of India’s strategy to secure the energy required by a rapidly technology-driven economy.
“Energy security is the need of the hour,” the Prime Minister said, linking the future demand for electricity to sectors including semiconductors, artificial intelligence and data centres.
Modi said India had set a target of reaching 100 GW of nuclear power by 2047, coinciding with the country’s centenary of independence.
He also announced a shorter-term objective of starting five new nuclear reactors within the decade, signalling an effort to accelerate nuclear capacity addition as India seeks to diversify its energy mix.
The Prime Minister linked the nuclear expansion to the recently passed SHANTI Act, saying the legislation had paved the way towards the country’s new nuclear-energy goals.
Another major development highlighted in the address was India’s achievement in mastering fast breeder nuclear technology.
Modi said the milestone, achieved during the current year, represented a significant step towards greater self-reliance in nuclear fuel. The development is being positioned as part of the broader Aatmanirbhar Bharat strategy, under which India aims to strengthen domestic capabilities rather than remain dependent on external sources.
The nuclear push comes against the backdrop of rapidly rising energy requirements. Modi specifically pointed to semiconductors, AI and data centres as technologies that would require electricity in very large quantities, making reliable energy supply increasingly important for India’s economic ambitions.
The Prime Minister has framed nuclear power as one component of a much larger energy-security strategy that also includes renewable energy, domestic oil and gas exploration and alternative fuels.
India’s nuclear ambitions are therefore being tied not only to electricity generation but also to the larger objective of ensuring that the country has sufficient energy resources to support industrialisation, technological development and the transition towards a developed economy by 2047.
