Central Electricity Authority (CEA), with the Ministry of Power, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and NTPC Limited (NTPC), organised a workshop at the Scope Convention Centre to operationalise the SHANTI Act, 2025 and scale India’s nuclear capacity to 100 gigawatt (GW) for long term energy security and net zero commitments. The programme opened with ceremonial formalities and senior leaders outlined the strategic rationale for private sector participation and institutional reform. Discussions focused on governance and financing structures needed for large scale deployment.

Ms Seema Jain, Member (Finance), DAE, highlighted the need for financial preparedness, risk sharing mechanisms and institutional arrangements, and urged global technological partnerships and innovative financing models. Shri Ghanshyam Prasad, Chairperson, CEA, said nuclear power will provide round the clock clean energy and called for diversification of fuel sources and long term procurement arrangements to secure supply. The deliberations emphasised safety, supply chain resilience and alignment of the SHANTI Act with existing electricity law.

Shri Gurdeep Singh, chair and managing director of NTPC, described nuclear energy as a key element of the future energy mix and called for acceleration of preparatory work including land identification and site studies to enable timely construction, noting that private participation makes nuclear a viable clean power option. Shri Praveen Gupta, Member (E&C), CEA, said multi stakeholder collaboration across government, industry and academia is vital to meet deployment targets. Delegates urged early rules and clear guidelines to speed project delivery and ensure long term fuel availability.

Technical and policy sessions addressed seven key areas: decoding the act and fuel security; site selection and project de risking; technology access and deployment; localisation and skill development; cost, tariff and financing; development of small modular reactors (SMRs) and medium modular reactors (MMRs); and risk management including insurance and liability frameworks. Discussions covered repurposing retiring thermal assets and stronger coordination with states as enablers for faster capacity addition. The workshop was attended by 150 delegates from 19 states, central ministries, regulators, developers, vendors, consultancies, academic institutions and industry associations.