Tripling nuclear by 2050: how India’s SHANTI era can unlock global momentum

As the world targets a tripling of nuclear capacity by mid-century, India’s new SHANTI framework and the industry’s convening at India Energy Week offer a pragmatic blueprint—bringing investors, regulators and end-users together to scale reliable, low carbon power.

India Energy Week (IEW) opens in Goa at a pivotal moment for nuclear energy. India has just enacted the SHANTI (Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India) Act, clearing a historic hurdle for broader participation in nuclear projects and accelerating execution on the ground. For the first time, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) can form joint ventures with private entities, including international partners—an operational shift that directly tackles chronic bottlenecks such as land acquisition, water‑use approvals, grid connectivity and power offtake.

This reform matters because India’s ambition is immense. NPCIL is mandated to deliver nearly half of the country’s ~100 GW nuclear target by 2047 requiring faster project throughput, earlier alignment with state authorities and dependable long‑term purchase agreements. By enabling state‑level joint ventures, SHANTI can improve offtake certainty from state‑owned distribution companies and create payment security that better matches the long gestation of nuclear assets.

The timing also coincides with the rise of new, power‑hungry data centres. Several states are scaling data‑centre capacity, sharpening the need for 24/7 baseload and heat options that are resilient and low‑carbon. Nuclear can anchor that reliability, backed by long-term contracts, and compliment renewables. State participation, in turn, can streamline right‑of‑way for transmission, coordinate local clearances, and accelerate rehabilitation and resettlement steps that too often slow energy infrastructure.

Financing: demystify the risk, mainstream the capital

To meet global tripling goals, the sector must broaden its investor base from specialist pools to mainstream infrastructure capital. That begins with clear, collaborative contractual arrangements in which delivery, cost and schedule risks are shared—paired with structures that align incentives over decades, not quarters. SHANTI’s JV model offers a replicable signal for international investors: early alignment between central and state actors, contracted offtake pathways, and shared accountability for permitting milestones.

Equally important is moving beyond one‑size‑fits‑all oversight into risk‑informed decision making—focusing regulatory effort on issues that matter most to safety and public confidence while streamlining duplicative steps that add time and cost but not assurance. When licensing, radiological protection and construction codes are predictable and harmonised across jurisdictions, vendors can standardise designs, lenders can price risk, and supply chains can invest with conviction.

Fuel, supply chain and workforce: plan for scale, not demonstrations

Tripling nuclear capacity isn’t simply a reactor count; it is an expansion of the entire nuclear value chain, from uranium exploration and mining, through conversion, enrichment, fuel fabrication, manufacturing all components, digital technology and, critically, people. IEW’s first‑ever Nuclear Zone—hosted by World Nuclear Association—illustrates how clustering buyers, suppliers, and policymakers helps accelerate that system view. With exhibitors ranging from NPCIL to global OEMs and EPCs, the zone creates a one‑stop forum to match demand visibility with manufacturing commitments and talent pipelines

Sector coupling: from electricity to heat and data

Beyond grid power, nuclear’s versatility to provide high‑temperature steam, district heat, and hydrogen co‑production can underpin industrial decarbonisation and digital resilience. As data‑centre demand increases, states seeking growth can pair nuclear baseload with renewables and storage to deliver both reliability and carbon reductions. SHANTI’s facilitation of state participation makes such sector‑coupled projects more feasible, because siting, water access and transmission planning are inherently local.

Why India Energy Week 2026 is the right place, right now

IEW runs 27–30 January in Goa and is now the world’s second‑largest energy gathering, with more than 75,000 delegates expected. For nuclear specifically, this week concentrates global policymakers, utilities, financiers and large energy users in one venue.

If we are serious about tripling global nuclear by 2050, we must couple ambition with executable frameworks. India’s SHANTI era, showcased this week at IEW, provides a credible path from policy intent to project delivery. Let’s use these days in Goa to align on the deals, designs and decisions that will keep the lights on—and the planet on course.