Budget: NPCIL gets Rs 9,410 cr as India seeks to ramp up nuclear capacity

NPCIL, India's sole nuclear power plant operator, on Wednesday received an allocation of Rs 9,410 crore in the Union Budget for 2023-24 as it sets out to ramp up atomic power generation capacity in the country.

The allocation to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) was an increase of Rs 2,859 crore (more than 43 per cent) over the revised estimate of Rs 6,551 crore of the current fiscal.

In addition to the budgetary allocation, the NPCIL will raise an additional Rs 12,863 crore through Internal and Extra Budgetary Resources, which constitutes the resources raised by the PSUs through profits, loans and equity.

The Department of Atomic Energy has been allocated Rs 25,078.49 crore which is lower than Rs 25,965.67 crore it had received in the revised estimates in the 2022-23 fiscal.

The other public sector companies under the Department of Atomic Energy - Indian Rare Earths Ltd will get Rs 120.30 crore, Uranium Corporation of India Ltd Rs 59.82 crore, and Electronics Corporation of India Ltd Rs 15 crore - during fiscal year 2024.

The Fuel Recycle Projects under the Nuclear Regulatory Board have been allocated Rs 805.21 crore against Rs 703.5 crore it had received under revised estimates in 2022-23. It concerns construction of Integrated Nuclear Recycle Project to improve supply of fuel to second stage of the nuclear power programme.

India's current installed nuclear power capacity is 6,780 MW and it plans to add 21 more atomic power generating units with a total installed capacity of 15,700 MW by 2031.