Annual nuclear power generation stood at 35,333 mn units in 2021-22: Govt

In past India's nuclear installations were mostly confined to the South Indian States or in the west in Maharashtra and Gujarat, the Modi govt is also promoting its expansion to other parts of India

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday said that the country's annual nuclear power generation stood at 35,333 million units in 2021-22 with a 30 to 40 per cent increase over the last eight years of the PM Narendra Modi government.

"India's Nuclear Power capacity witnessed a quantum jump after 2014 when Narendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister. In the year 2013-14 if the annual nuclear power generation stood at 35,333 Million Units, in the latest year of 2021-22 it stands at 47,112 million units which is nearly a 30 to 40 per cent increase within a short span of over eight and half years," Singh told Rajya Sabha during the Budget session of the Parliament.

While citing a number of the Modi government's decisions to supplement the rise of nuclear power generation in India, the minister said, "If there were only 22 reactors in the country before this government came in, the cabinet headed by Prime Minister Modi gave simultaneous bulk approval for as many as 11 indigenous pressurised heavy water reactors in 2017 at a total cost of Rs.1,05,000 crore and a total capacity of 7,000 Mega Watts."

He further said that in the case of the Space Department which was unlocked for private players, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also allowed Joint Ventures with Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) to augment India's nuclear programme.

Moreover, Singh also told the Upper House that while in past India's nuclear installations were mostly confined to the South Indian States or in the west in Maharashtra and Gujarat, the Modi government is also promoting its expansion to other parts of the country.

In this context, he cited the example of the upcoming nuclear power plant in Gorakhpur town of Haryana which will become functional in near future.

In reply to another question, Jitendra Singh noted with pride that the world's first thorium-based nuclear plant "Bhavni" using Uranium-233 is being set up at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu.

"It is going to be entirely indigenous and the first of its kind, he said. The experimental thorium plant "Kamini" already exists in Kalpakkam," he added.