Niranjan Chandrashekhar Oak

Union Budget and SHANTI Act 2026: Enablers for India’s Nuclear Ambitions

The nuclear-related budget announcements and the SHANTI Act are likely to play a significant role in India’s global nuclear collaborations.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Views on India’s Nuclear Quest

Prime Minister Vajpayee not only led India across the nuclear rubicon overtly but also worked to secure international legitimacy in the nuclear domain.

Nuclear Cooperation: A Constant in the India–Russia Relationship

Nuclear cooperation has remained a defining attribute of the India–Russia bilateral relationship.

Analysing Trump’s Nuclear Rhetoric

Satellite imagery and expert analysis reveal significant expansion of nuclear testing sites in Russia, China and the US.

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?