India will need an average annual investment requirement of Rs 1 lakh crore to achieve the 100 GW nuclear power goal by 2047, said a recent analysis.

A report, India’s Nuclear Energy Vision: Strategic Pathways for SMR Deployment by TERI, says that based on an assumed capital intensity of Rs 22-25 crore per MW and typical capacity utilisation factors, the total investment requirement to reach 100 GW is estimated at approximately Rs 23–25 lakh crore.

“The projected investment trajectory reflects a gradual but significant increase over time, with cumulative investment rising in line with capacity additions. This translates into an average annual investment requirement of approximately Rs 1.0 -1.2 lakh crore over the expansion horizon,” it said.

The analysis highlights that while the technical pathway to scale nuclear capacity is well-defined, the economic feasibility will depend critically on sustaining high levels of capital deployment, ensuring cost discipline, and maintaining a steady project execution pipeline.

India has opened the nuclear sector for private players’ participation to ensure private capital investment as the industry looks at energy transition.  

At this level of deployment, the binding constraint shifts from engineering feasibility to how nuclear projects are institutionally structured, financed, owned, and operated.

“Unlike most other power-generation technologies, nuclear power embeds safety accountability, regulatory compliance, fuel-cycle responsibility, and long-term stewardship within the owner–operator entity,” it noted.

It further says that the core opportunity for private sector participation lies in decoupling capital provision from operational control. Private involvement may, in the initial business model, be structured primarily as a financial role, focused on long-term investment rather than plant ownership in the operational sense, while retaining flexibility for future participation in ownership and operations.

Published on: May 15, 2026 3:54 PM IST