Bhawna Budhwar

Iran–Israel Twelve-Day War: From Missile Precision to Defence Saturation

On 13 June 2025, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a military campaign targeting key Iranian military sites, nuclear facilities, command-and-control centres, nuclear scientists and senior Iranian military commanders. During this attack, Israel employed both SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defences) and DEAD (Destruction of Enemy Air Defences) operations. In swift retaliation, Iran launched Operation True Promise, unleashing a coordinated missile and drone offensive that overwhelmed Israel’s multilayered air defence system. These operations were a litmus test for Israel and Iran’s missile and defence capabilities because Israel’s advanced air defence system was pitted against Iran’s sophisticated missiles.

SHANTI Act and India’s Nuclear Energy Governance Framework

The SHANTI Act establishes a unified legal framework designed to address India’s contemporary and future energy requirements.

Niranjan Chandrashekhar Oak, Bhawna Budhwar |
February 17, 2026 |
Issue Brief

India’s Roadmap for Small Modular Reactors

The Indian Union Budget for the fiscal year 2025–26 provisioned ₹ 20,000 crore for the Nuclear Energy Mission aimed at advancing research and development in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), to operationalize at least five indigenously developed SMRs by 2033 (PIB Citation2025a). This is a part of the larger objective to instal 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047, which currently amounts to a mere 8.18 GW, i.e., 1.74 per cent of India’s total electricity generation capacity. Moreover, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is actively designing three types of SMRs—Bharat Small Modular Reactor (200 MW), Small Modular Reactor (55 MW), and Gas-cooled high-temperature reactor meant for hydrogen production (PIB Citation2025b). The development of the SMRs will involve Indian private industry for the first time. Further, India is also collaborating with foreign companies in this endeavour. To address concerns raised by private players, the Government has established separate Task Forces to amend the AERB, Citation1962, and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA), 2010. The budgetary allocation, a time-bound action plan to develop SMRs and the intended legislative changes show that the Government is serious about the development of SMRs. Against this backdrop, the Commentary tries to gauge the significance of the SMRs in India’s strategic calculus. How will the proposed amendments change India’s nuclear energy landscape? What are India’s global engagements in the field of SMRs? What are the challenges in the path of India’s acceptance of SMRs?