India accords approval for 5 sites for new nuclear power plants

NEW DELHI, April 7: India's government has accorded in principle approval for five new sites for nuclear power plants to be built in the future, Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh has said.

The state minister didn't disclose the name of the five locations.

In reply to a question in the parliament, the minister also said that the federal government had accorded approval for 10 indigenous 700 MW pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs) to be set up in a fleet mode.

"On progressive completion of the projects under construction and accorded sanction, the nuclear capacity is expected to reach 22,480 MW by 2031," he added.

According to him, at present there are 22 reactors operating in the South Asian country with a total capacity of 6,780 MW and the reactor KAPP-3 (700 MW) was connected to the grid on Jan. 10, 2021.

He also said that in order to meet the need by India's PHWRs, fuel fabrication capacity has been augmented in facilities at the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) located in the southern city of Hyderabad, and upcoming facilities at the NFC in Kota in the northern state of Rajasthan.