Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has extended the deadline of its December 2024 request for proposals (RFP) on co-developing 220 MWe Bharat Small Reactors (BSR) from 30 September to 31 March 2026. The RFP invited industries/companies to propose sites for twin 220 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs), referred to as BSRs, to be constructed under NPCIL’s supervision. While NPCIL will retain operational control and asset ownership, the successful bidders will hold beneficial rights over the net electricity generated.

The RFP drew interest from Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Adani Power, Tata Power, Hindalco Industries, Jindal Steel and Power and JSW Energy, among others. According to NPCIL, Hindalco, Jindal Steel and Power, Tata Power and RIL have submitted documents specified in the RFP for signing Non-disclosure Agreements (NDAs) and have collected tentative plant performance data and operations and maintenance expenditure data. JSW Energy and Adani Power have submitted documents required for signing an NDA, which are currently under evaluation and further processing.

These companies have also identified 16 probable sites across six states for setting up BSR projects. These include five sites in Gujarat, four in Madhya Pradesh, three in Odisha, two in Andhra Pradesh, and one each in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. NPCIL said it has also written to state governments in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha seeking support for site investigations and for land and water allocation.

NPCIL also said the bid deadline was pushed back following requests from companies seeking more time to evaluate the proposed sites and work out the costs.

According to the RFP documents, the successful bidder must finance the entire project, including capital and operational expenditure, and will be required to reimburse NPCIL for all costs incurred across the lifecycle – from pre-project assessments to decommissioning. In return, they will gain assured long-term access to the full electricity output (net of auxiliary consumption) for captive use.

Private companies have so far been limited to supplying equipment and EPC services, but the government’s 2025-26 Budget included plans to open nuclear generation – especially small modular reactors (SMRs) – to private ownership. The tender floated by NPCIL is the first step in this direction.

To allow private sector participation, amendments are required to the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, which currently restricts ownership to government entities, and to the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, whose supplier liability provisions have long deterred investors. The government is also considering a nuclear liability fund, a new umbrella law with a streamlined regulator, and phased FDI liberalisation to attract foreign capital. These legislative changes are expected to be tabled in Parliament in the Winter Session of 2025.