India will need investments of approximately ₹15 lakh crore to add 91 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear power capacity and hit its target of 100 GW of nuclear energy by 2047, Central Electricity Authority (CEA) Chairman Ghanshyam Prasad said on Wednesday, 14 October 2026. The remarks were made at a CEA brainstorming event focused on making India's power sector AI-enabled, underscoring how the country's energy ambitions are increasingly intertwined with both technology and capital mobilisation.

Where India Stands Today

India's installed nuclear power capacity currently stands at around 8.8 GW, according to Prasad. That figure is expected to rise to 22 GW by 2030–31 — a meaningful step, but still well short of the 100 GW goal set for 2047. Closing the remaining gap will require the addition of roughly 91 GW, an undertaking Prasad described as requiring not just public funding but significantly greater participation from private companies.

The Case for Nuclear as Baseload Power

Prasad positioned nuclear energy as a reliable, round-the-clock electricity source capable of complementing India's growing renewable portfolio. He noted that despite an installed renewable energy capacity of 274 GW, renewables contribute only about 29.2% of total electricity generation — a gap explained by the intermittent nature of solar and wind. Nuclear energy, by contrast, can provide stable baseload supply regardless of weather conditions. This comes amid projections that India's peak power demand will surge from 250 GW in 2024–25 to 459 GW by 2035–36, a near-doubling that renewables alone are unlikely to bridge.

AI as a Force Multiplier

Speaking at the event themed around artificial intelligence in the power sector, Prasad called for AI to be leveraged across grid management, safety systems, and operational efficiency. 'As we move towards Viksit Bharat by 2047 and Net Zero by 2070, we have the chance to build a power system that is not just larger, but fundamentally smarter, safer, cleaner, and more resilient,' he said. He added: 'Let us make AI a force multiplier for the collective expertise of our engineers, system operators, utilities, regulators, academia, and industry.'

Policy Shift: Private Sector Now Allowed In

India's nuclear expansion received a landmark policy boost in December 2025, when Parliament approved legislation permitting private and foreign companies to participate in the nuclear power sector. The move marked a significant departure from India's decades-old state-controlled nuclear model, which had confined the sector to public entities. The legislative change is widely seen as a prerequisite for mobilising the scale of investment Prasad outlined — no single public sector entity can alone deploy ₹15 lakh crore in a sector that has historically moved slowly.

What This Means for India's 2047 and Net Zero Goals

India has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2070 and the Viksit Bharat vision of a fully developed economy by 2047. Nuclear energy sits at the intersection of both targets — it is low-carbon, high-output, and land-efficient compared to equivalent renewable installations. Notably, however, nuclear projects in India have historically faced long gestation periods and cost overruns, raising questions about execution timelines. The combination of private sector participation, AI-driven operations, and public investment planning will be critical to delivering on a target that is as much a logistical challenge as a financial one.