NTPC Picks Three Sites for Nuclear Power Plants: What It Means for India's Nuclear Expansion
NTPC Limited, India's largest power-producing public sector company, has chosen three locations for future nuclear power plants, one each in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha.
NTPC has sent feasibility reports (studies that check whether a site is suitable: land, water, safety, population nearby) for these sites to the Atomic Energy Commission for appraisal.
These sites are part of NTPC's plan to build up to 30 GW (30,000 megawatts) of nuclear power capacity by 2047.
NTPC is also exploring partnerships with foreign nuclear technology companies. This has become possible because the SHANTI Act, 2025 opened the nuclear power sector to more players.
NTPC's first nuclear project, the Mahi Banswara plant in Rajasthan (4 units of 700 MW), is being built by ASHVINI, its joint venture with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).
India's Three-Stage Nuclear Power Programme
India's Three-Stage Nuclear Power Programme is a long-term plan to make India self-reliant in nuclear power. India has very little uranium, the usual nuclear fuel, but it has some of the largest thorium reserves in the world. Thorium cannot be used as fuel directly. So the plan uses three kinds of reactors, one after another, to slowly turn India's small uranium stock and huge thorium stock into usable fuel.
NTPC's three new sites will most likely host 700 MW PHWRs, the Stage 1 workhorse, like its first project at Mahi Banswara. More Stage 1 reactors mean more plutonium for Stage 2 fast breeders, which is the path the three-stage plan needs to reach thorium.
SHANTI Act, 2025: Opening India's Nuclear Power Sector
The SHANTI Act, 2025 (Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India) is India's new main law for nuclear energy. It replaced the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010. Its biggest change is that companies other than NPCIL and government joint ventures can now take part in building and running nuclear power plants. Sensitive work such as handling spent fuel stays with the government.
The SHANTI Act gives companies like NTPC more room to plan large nuclear fleets and to tie up with foreign technology firms. NTPC's search for international partners for its new sites is one of the first big tests of this new legal framework.
Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) Technology vs India's PHWR
A nuclear power plant splits uranium atoms to make heat, turns water into steam and spins a turbine to make electricity. India's own reactors are mostly Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs), which use natural uranium and heavy water. Most of the world uses Pressurised Water Reactors (PWRs), which need enriched uranium but use ordinary water. Which design a company picks decides its fuel supply, its costs and its foreign partners.
NTPC must decide whether its new sites use India's proven 700 MW PHWR or a foreign PWR design brought in through a technology partner. PHWRs build India's own three-stage path, while PWRs from abroad could add capacity faster but depend on imported fuel and technology.
- NTPC's three chosen nuclear sites: one each in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha
- Feasibility reports sent to the Atomic Energy Commission for appraisal
- NTPC target: up to 30 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047
- NTPC's first nuclear project: Mahi Banswara, Rajasthan, 4 × 700 MW PHWRs via ASHVINI (NPCIL 51%, NTPC 49%)
- National target: 100 GW of nuclear power by 2047
- Installed nuclear capacity (2026): about 8,780 MW from 24 reactors, about 3% of electricity
- PFBR (500 MWe, Kalpakkam) first criticality: 6 April 2026
- Nuclear Energy Mission: ₹20,000 crore for SMR research; at least 5 indigenous SMRs by 2033