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India’s First Private Nuclear Tender Faces Delays Over Cost, Funding, and Ownership Challenges

India’s first-ever private sector nuclear tender, floated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) in March 2024, has run into serious issues related to cost, funding, and ownership, threatening to derail the government’s plan to involve private companies in nuclear energy generation. The tender, meant to develop two 220 MW Bharat Small Reactors (BSRs) for captive use, drew interest from major firms like Reliance Industries, Tata Power, Adani Energy, Greenko, BHEL, and JSW Energy. However, companies have raised over 680 queries, mainly over unviable financial terms and rigid ownership rules.

Private players argue that NPCIL’s “expertise charge” of Rs0.60 per kWh is excessive, the mandated plant load factor (PLF) of 68.5% is too low, and the short licensing period makes debt financing difficult. Since nuclear assets must be legally owned by NPCIL under the Atomic Energy Act, private developers cannot claim depreciation benefits or secure loans, making funding nearly impossible. Additionally, the high project cost—Rs15–22 crore per MW—further discourages participation.

Despite interest from large industrial players, the tender remains stalled as NPCIL insists on adhering to Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) norms. Unless these financial and regulatory hurdles are addressed, private nuclear participation may remain unviable in India’s current framework.