"SHANTI Act draft rules may give Russia's SMR sector edge in India"
SHANTI Act
Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India; opens India's nuclear sector to private and foreign participation.
Small Modular Reactor (SMR)
Advanced nuclear reactor under ~300 MWe; factory-built, modular, suited for decentralised or industrial power supply.
India's civilian nuclear energy programme has been shaped by decades of international isolation following its 1974 Pokhran test and the subsequent tightening of the global non-proliferation order. The landmark India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement (2008), backed by an NSG waiver, ended this isolation and opened India to international nuclear commerce for the first time. Russia, however, had already established a privileged position through the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu — the largest nuclear power station in India — which predates the 2008 deal and represents the flagship of bilateral energy cooperation. India's nuclear energy ambitions are now being reshaped by the SHANTI Act (Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India), which for the first time opens the sector to private participation and foreign investment, moving beyond the earlier monopoly of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). The draft rules issued under this Act are now the operative regulatory framework that will govern how foreign nuclear technology enters India.
India's nuclear energy mix has historically relied on Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) using domestic uranium, supplemented by imported Light Water Reactors (LWRs) — primarily Russia's VVER series at Kudankulam. The country's three-stage nuclear programme, designed to eventually exploit its vast thorium reserves, remains a long-term aspiration. In the near term, India is seeking to rapidly scale up low-carbon baseload capacity, and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) have emerged as a strategic option for decentralised, flexible nuclear power — particularly for energy-intensive applications like data centres and remote industrial facilities.
Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are advanced nuclear reactors with a generating capacity of roughly one-third that of conventional large reactors — typically under 300 MWe — that can be factory-built, modularly deployed, and sited in locations unsuitable for full-scale plants. Their appeal lies in lower upfront capital costs, shorter construction timelines, and suitability for off-grid or industrial applications. Globally, the SMR sector is nascent: only two SMR projects have reached operational status worldwide. The first is Russia's Akademik Lomonosov, a floating nuclear power unit with two modules of 35 MWe each, which began commercial operation and is docked at Pevek harbour in the Russian Arctic — designated the world's northernmost nuclear power plant. The second is China's HTR-PM, a high-temperature gas-cooled demonstration reactor that achieved commercial operations.
Western competitors — including Holtec International, Rolls-Royce SMR, NuScale's VOYGR, Westinghouse's AP300, and GE-Hitachi's BWRX-300 — are all still in design certification phases and have not yet received regulatory clearance from their domestic authorities, let alone commenced operations. …
Recently, India signed a deal known as 'Action Plan for Prioritization and Implementation of Cooperation Areas in the Nuclear Field' with which of the following countries?
In India, why are some nuclear reactors kept under 'IAEA Safeguards' while others are not?
In the Indian context, what is the implication of ratifying the 'Additional Protocol' with the 'International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)' ?
With reference to the SHANTI Act's draft rules on foreign nuclear technology, consider the following statements:
1.Foreign nuclear technology imported for a nuclear power plant in India must be certified by the regulatory body in its country of origin.
2.The technology must already be operational in India before it can be certified for import.
3.The rules require that the technology does not adversely affect India's national interest or pose unreasonable public health risks.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Which of the following correctly describes the 'Akademik Lomonosov'?
Consider the following pairs regarding nuclear reactors operational or proposed at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) in India:
1.VVER-1000 — Units 1 and 2, connected to national grid
2.VVER-1200 — Currently operational at KKNPP
3.TVC-2M fuel — Extends fuel cycle from 12 months to 18 months
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
Assertion (A): Under the SHANTI Act's draft rules, most Western small modular reactor (SMR) vendors currently cannot qualify to supply technology to India.
Reason (R): Western SMR designs such as NuScale's VOYGR, Rolls-Royce SMR, and Westinghouse's AP300 are still in design certification phases and are not yet operational in their countries of origin.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
With reference to India's nuclear energy sector, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1.The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has historically held a monopoly over nuclear power generation in India.
2.India's indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) use imported uranium as their primary fuel.
3.The SHANTI Act marks the first legislative opening of India's nuclear energy sector to private participation.
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