India’s Parliament Takes Up Bill To Open Nuclear Sector
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Article content(Bloomberg) — Sign In or Create an AccountEmail AddressContinueor View more offersArticle contentFollow Bloomberg India on WhatsApp for exclusive content and analysis on what billionaires, businesses and markets are doing. Sign up here.Article contentWe apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, ortap here to see other videos from our team.Article contentIndia introduced legal amendments in parliament on Monday to open its nuclear sector to private companies, accelerating a push to end a state monopoly over the power-generation technology. Article contentPrime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is seeking lawmakers’ approval for a bill to help build 100 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2047 — the year India aims to attain developed-nation status. The power ministry estimates the effort will require $213 billion.Article contentArticle contentThe move comes as governments around the world embrace nuclear as they try and decarbonize their electricity grids. Japan is slowly reopening plants shuttered after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, while the UK, China and South Korea are building new facilities to broaden their energy mix as the growth of artificial intelligence and data centers boosts power demand.Article contentTop StoriesGet the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.There was an error, please provide a valid email address.Sign UpBy signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.Thanks for signing up!A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againInterested in more newsletters? Browse here.Article contentNew Delhi has long been cautious about liberalizing its nuclear sector. The 1984 gas leak in Bhopal, which killed thousands, ushered in tougher industrial and environmental rules and made India the only country to impose liability on both equipment suppliers and operators. The regulations have kept General Electric Co. out of the market and stalled projects involving Westinghouse Electric Co. and Electricite de France. Article contentIndia currently operates 25 reactors, all run by the state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd., or NPCIL. With private firms barred from building or running new reactors, the government has fallen behind its target of generating 63 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2032 — a goal later scaled down. Article contentArticle contentNPCIL is counting on private capital to help overcome a funding crunch and boost nuclear capacity beyond the current 8.8 gigawatts.Article contentIndustry experts aren’t anticipating any major political resistance, partly because the opposition Congress party is expected to support the move. A 2008 nuclear pact with the US — signed when the Congress governed — reopened global nuclear trade for India, reversing decades-old curbs triggered by its 1974 atomic test.Article content“We need nuclear for clean baseload power. While we’ll continue to depend on coal for a long time, nuclear can help limit that requirement,” said R. Srikanth, a professor of energy and climate at the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bangalore.Article contentVisible pushback so far has come from the National Alliance for Anti-nuclear Movement, an environmental group that argues the legislation would normalize land acquisitions for nuclear development and increase exposure to radioactive waste. Its coordinator, S.P. Udaykumar, said the group has been lobbying opposition lawmakers to vote against the bill.Article contentBut with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and its coalition partners holding a majority in both houses, the legislation named the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India, 2025 is expected to pass easily.Article contentTrending 'Why let one person in the States change your life?' 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