New Delhi: The National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC), one of the country’s largest integrated power companies, is in advanced stages of talks with Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to finalise land, and get commitment for assured water supply for setting up its nuclear power plants, ThePrint has learnt.
Of the four states, while Gujarat has already given in-principal approval, Andhra Pradesh is also expected to give the green signal soon, senior government officials said.
India has set a target of generating 100 GW nuclear power by 2047. Of this, the NTPC is targeting 30 GW through its nuclear subsidiary NPUNL (NTPC Parmanu Urja Nigam Limited) and ASHVINI, its joint venture with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).
The NTPC has already forayed into the nuclear sector with its 2,800-MWe plant at Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan, whose foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2025. The power plant will have four indigenous pressurised heavy water reactors of 700 MWe each. The Mahi Banswara plant is being executed by NTPC.
“Besides land, for setting up nuclear power plants, we also have to have a commitment of assured water supply. While Gujarat has given its approval, in Andhra Pradesh’s case, the land has been finalised. Being a coastal state, commitment for providing water will not be a big issue,” said a senior government official who did not wish to be named.
The official declined to name the location identified in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh for setting up the nuclear power plant.
NTPC is scouting for approximately 35-36 sites across the country for setting up Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs), in line with its goal to develop 30 MW of nuclear capacity by 2047.
Besides the four states where NTPC is in advanced stages of talks, discussions are also underway with Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, where the Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) has shortlisted prospective sites.
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‘Long-drawn process’
“The catch is not just land that you need but also the commitment of water. Now water is a state resource. We need an in-principle clearance from the state that not only is it ready to acquire that land for us but make available the water required from a specified source,” a senior power department official said.
The official added that NTPC has been scouting for land for the last 6-8 months.
A second power ministry official added, “It’s a long drawn process. From the time a state gives its in-principle approval to the final approval for the nuclear power project by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), it will take close to two years. It’s only after CCS clearance that work will take off on the ground.”
The second official added that NTPC is currently looking forward to pursuing the Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) technology. “We are looking at PHWR and pressurised water reactor technologies, not small modular reactors.”
India’s nuclear push has got a fresh impetus with the passage of the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act by Parliament last month. The new law, which repeals the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act, 2010, is set to pave the way for private companies to participate in the nuclear power sector in India.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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