New Delhi, February 12 The government on Thursday informed the Rajya Sabha that it was following timelines and safety measures on the commissioning of nuclear plants in the country, and the third unit of the Kudankulam nuclear plant is likely to be completed by 2026 and the fourth by 2027.
Responding to supplementary questions during question hour, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh told members in the upper house that the country's nuclear capacity is set to triple to nearly 22,380 MW by 2031-32 and to 100 gigawatts (GW) by 2047.
"…India's nuclear programme is in an expansionist mode. This has been possible due to the courage and out-of-the-box thinking of Prime Minister Modi, who has opened up the nuclear sector to private players.
"This was something that was unimaginable just five years ago. I believe that the nation and society have reconciled to the fact that we need to function behind a veil of secrecy. For the first time, we have adopted a global strategy," he told the house.
The minister also informed the house that just the day before, "we achieved another record – the Rajasthan Atomic Power Project in Rawalbeta successfully achieved its rated capacity of 700 MW on February 10 at 5.30 in the morning."
"I believe I have every reason to convince members that they should trust the information conveyed to them about the Kudankulam timelines," he added, noting that the credit goes to this government, as the Kudankulam plant was first conceived way back in 1988, but construction did not start and the first brick was laid in 2002, under the NDA government led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Even after that, construction continued, but there was no progress, he said, adding that it was only after the present government came into power, and Prime Minister Modi took over in May 2014, that in December 2014, the first unit of the Kudankulam plant became functional with two units of 1000 MW.
"We have followed a timeline, and we are on a fast track. I believe that no geopolitical circumstances will affect this plant. The third unit is likely to be completed by 2026 and the fourth by 2027. The first two units were also completed in the last decade, only after this government came into power. This means that the intent and the plan of this government is very clear, and we are following it with a great amount of discipline," Singh told the house.
In response to another query, he also said that NPCIL has been spending CSR funds for the benefit of neighboring areas located around the plant. This is also called the rehabilitation and resettlement of neighbourhood welfare, he said.
In response to a question by SP's Ramgopal Yadav, the minister said, "In the last 10-11 years, India has been moving rapidly towards self-reliance in this sector. When this government came to power in 2014, the capacity of our nuclear reactors was 4780 MW.
"Today, in 2026, this capacity has more than doubled to 8780 MW, and with the enabling provisions made, such as the Shanti Act, our estimate is that we will be able to increase our capacity to three times or 22,380 MW by 2031-32.
"The nuclear capacity is increasing, despite all those assumptions you are making. If the figures have doubled and are set to triple, it means that we have self-reliance and self-potential, and we are not solely dependent on others," he said.
Jitendra Singh said that for the first time, this government has set its own timelines for nuclear energy.
"In 2025, we will have 8.8 GW, in 2032 we will have 22 GW, in 2037 we will have 47 GW, in 2042 we will have 67 GW, and in 2047 we will have 100 GW. We are moving with confidence, with not just self-reliance but also self-confidence," he asserted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the house at the time.
"The mantra we follow in the nuclear programme is safety first, then production. I urge members to dispel any fears about the safety of nuclear plants, as sometimes these fears are spread for extraneous reasons," he also said on the safety of nuclear plants.