Page 74 - Policy Economic Report -August 2026

August 2026 POLICY AND ECONOMIC
OIL & GAS MARKET

Emphasising the Government’s efforts to create a broader domestic nuclear ecosystem, Dr. Jitendra
Singh said the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India
(SHANTI) Act, 2025 has been enacted to enable wider participation of both public and private entities
in the nuclear sector.

The Department of Atomic Energy is encouraging Indian industry through knowledge-sharing and
handholding for new SMR technologies, while simultaneously developing domestic nuclear vendors
and strengthening the private-sector R&D ecosystem. Critical components such as low-alloy steel
forgings for reactor pressure vessels and reactivity control drive mechanisms have already been
realised through domestic industry, while development of other critical equipment has also been
initiated with domestic industry and start-ups.

The reforms under the SHANTI Act envisage greater participation of private entities in nuclear
manufacturing, engineering services, research and development and supply chains, while maintaining
stringent standards of nuclear safety, security and safeguards. The Act also provides statutory status
to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, thereby reinforcing the framework for robust regulatory
oversight.

On thorium, Dr. Jitendra Singh said India is pursuing its Three-Stage Nuclear Power Programme, based
on a closed fuel cycle, to optimise utilisation of its uranium resources and progressively harness its
abundant thorium reserves. Thorium, being a fertile material, needs to be converted into fissile
uranium-233 in a nuclear reactor before it can be used for energy generation.

Under the first stage, natural uranium is used as fuel in PHWRs, followed by reprocessing of spent fuel
to extract plutonium. In the second stage, Fast Breeder Reactors utilise plutonium to generate
additional fissile material. The third stage envisages large-scale utilisation of thorium through
uranium-233 bred from thorium, after adequate capacity of Fast Breeder Reactors has been
established.

India has already undertaken sustained R&D towards thorium utilisation. Thorium Oxide (Thoria)
pellets have been used in the initial cores of operating PHWRs, while Thoria-based fuels have also
been irradiated in BARC research reactors. The irradiated Thoria pins have been reprocessed to obtain
uranium-233, which has subsequently been fabricated as fuel for the KAMINI reactor at IGCAR,
Kalpakkam.

Dr. Jitendra Singh said the Government is undertaking a range of measures to build a globally
competitive, self-reliant and technologically advanced nuclear energy ecosystem. These include
implementation of the Nuclear Energy Mission, development of indigenous SMRs, strengthening of
domestic nuclear manufacturing and supply chains, continued capacity building in reactor design,
manufacturing, construction and the nuclear fuel cycle, as well as expansion of indigenous nuclear
medicine infrastructure through the Isotope Production Reactor (IPR) to augment domestic
production of medical isotopes.

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