NPCIL to revise existing tender for nuclear reactors under SHANTI regime

NPCIL is revising its Bharat Small Reactors tender and extending timelines after the SHANTI Act opened India's nuclear power sector to private participation

State-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) is revising its Bharat Small Reactors (BSRs) tender to align with the newly enacted SHANTI Act, a landmark legislation that opens India’s nuclear sector to private participation.

 

The company had floated a request for proposal (RFP) in December 2024 inviting proposals from state-owned and private companies to set up 220 Megawatt (Mw) BSRs, outlining a business model for industry participation. It has now extended the timeline for submission of proposals to March 2026.

 

The original RFP was structured according to the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act 2010. Parliament passed the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act last month, opening up the nuclear energy sector for private participation.

 

“In light of the revised statutory regime, NPCIL proposes to rework the underlying business model to ensure full alignment with the provisions and intent of the SHANTI Bill,” the company said, inviting inputs from the industry to ensure the revised model addresses implementation requirements while safeguarding policy objectives.

 

NPCIL will hold a consultative workshop next week to discuss a new approach for implementing the BSR programme in the post-SHANTI Bill context. The original RFP was for setting up 220 Mw BSRs, based on Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) technology, in brownfield and greenfield sites offered by industries for their captive electricity consumption.

 

NPCIL issued the original tender after Budget 2024’s announcement that private companies will be allowed to participate in deploying BSRs as captive plants.

 

India’s Nuclear Energy Mission aims to increase the sector’s power generation capacity to 100 Gigawatt (Gw) by 2047. The roadmap requires NPCIL to set up 54 Gw capacity through projects based on indigenous PHWRs and Light Water Reactors with foreign cooperation.

 

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre is designing and developing SMRs, including 200 MW Bharat Small Modular Reactors and 55 MW Small Modular Reactors that can be used as captive plants for energy-intensive industries and in remote places.