RS MP Kartikeya Sharma urges govt to facilitate pvt investment in nuclear power sector

A Rajya Sabha member from Haryana on Tuesday urged the government to enable structured private-sector participation in India's nuclear energy expansion.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha, Haryana MP Kartikeya Sharma noted that India's scientific journey, which began with the resolve of pioneers like Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai, has now reached a turning point.

With India aiming for 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047, he cautioned that the scale of investment required, nearly Rs 20 lakh crore cannot be met by the government alone.

Sharma stressed that unlocking private innovation and capital is essential for meeting the country's long-term clean energy goals.

He highlighted how the opening of India's space sector to private participation created a flourishing ecosystem of more than 200 spacetech startups and significant global investor confidence.

Sharma urged the House to consider a similar structural shift in the nuclear sector, calling it the next frontier for India's energy security, industrial decarbonisation and scientific progress.

He also drew attention to India's low private-sector R&D participation, currently at 36 per cent, compared to leading global economies and underlined that a policy framework enabling industry participation in nuclear research, technology development and reactor deployment would accelerate India's march toward Viksit Bharat 2047 and Net Zero 2070.

Calling it a moment of historic opportunity, Sharma said that a nuclear renaissance is within reach if India acts with clarity and courage.

He appealed to the government to build on the recent Nuclear Energy Mission and create an enabling ecosystem for private-sector involvement, just as was done in the space sector.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)