NEW DELHI, Dec 18 (Reuters) – India’s parliament approved on Thursday a landmark atomic energy bill that allows private and foreign companies to enter the nuclear power sector, as the energy-hungry country targets a tenfold jump in nuclear power capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2047.
The legislation marks a major shift for the sector which has so far been tightly controlled by the state.
State-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India owns and operates the country’s fleet of nuclear power plants that have a total capacity of 8.8 gigawatts.
Reuters reported last year that India was looking to invite domestic private firms such as Tata Power, Adani Power and Reliance Industries to invest about $26 billion in the sector.
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Under the new law, private companies would need to obtain licences to operate nuclear power plants, while foreign firms can participate through partnerships with Indian companies.