PARLIAMENT QUESTION: DEPLOYMENT OF SMALL MODULAR REACTORS

The Nuclear Energy Mission (NEM), announced in the Union Budget 2025‑26, targets the design, development and operation of at least five indigenous small modular reactors (SMRs) to help achieve a 100 GWe nuclear capacity by 2047. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is developing the 220 MWe BSMR‑200, the 55 MWe SMR‑55 and a high‑temperature gas‑cooled reactor (HTGCR) of up to 5 MWth for hydrogen production, all as demonstration units. Indigenous technologies such as the Advanced Purified Reactor Vessel Alloy (ApuRVA) and control‑rod drive mechanisms have been created with Indian industry. The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act, 2025, enacted by the Ministry of Law and Justice, opens the nuclear sector to private participation, grants statutory status to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), and reforms the liability regime. Under NEM, Rs 20,000 crore has been earmarked for SMR research and deployment, with in‑principle approvals and site clearances obtained for BSMR‑200 (Tarapur), SMR‑55 (Tarapur) and HTGCR (BARC, Vizag), and an estimated construction period of 60‑72 months.