Examine the significance of the Nuclear Energy Mission announced in Union Budget 2025-26 in achieving India's 100 GW nuclear capacity target by 2047.

Q. Examine the significance of the Nuclear Energy Mission announced in Union Budget 2025-26 in achieving India's 100 GW nuclear capacity target by 2047. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

India's nuclear capacity is expanding from a modest base, while studies project a need of about 1 lakh MW by 2047 [3]. The Nuclear Energy Mission, announced in Union Budget 2025-26 with a ₹20,000 crore outlay for Small Modular Reactor (SMR) research, is significant less as a new funding line and more as the delivery vehicle that converts this long-term target into a time-bound programme [4].

Technological significance: a second track alongside the three-stage programme - The Mission funds indigenous SMRs, targeting at least five operational SMRs by 2033 — modular units that deploy faster than conventional large reactors [4]. - SMR designs under development include the BSMR-200 and SMR-55, plus a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor for hydrogen production [4]. - It supplements, not replaces, the three-stage programme (PHWR → Fast Breeder Reactor → thorium-based U-233), whose thorium stage remains long-gestation [1].

Institutional and legal significance - The Mission is paired with proposed amendments to the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, opening a state-monopoly sector to private participation [5]. - A multi-agency task force (DAE, AERB, NPCIL, NITI Aayog, MEA) is examining these reforms, signalling regulatory seriousness [5].

Strategic and energy-security significance - It reinforces the domestic-resource logic of insulating India from uranium import dependence and geopolitical risk [1]. - Nuclear supplies firm, low-carbon baseload, complementing variable renewables in the net-zero pathway [2].

Limitations - Capacity is projected to reach only about 22,480 MW by 2031-32 [3]; the leap to 100 GW depends on private capital that will flow only after the legal amendments are enacted. - SMR commercialisation by 2033 remains a technology-demonstration milestone, not proven scale.

The Mission's true significance lies in sequencing — finance, technology and legal reform moving together rather than in isolation. Timely passage of the amendments, credible liability caps and strengthened AERB capacity would let it anchor the 2047 target, aligning India's energy security with its SDG-7 and net-zero commitments.

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Sources: 1. PARLIAMENT QUESTION: NUCLEAR POWER PROGRAMME, DAE (2026) — three-stage programme; thorium/U-233; insulation from uranium import and geopolitical risk 2. A New Chapter in India's Nuclear Journey — DAE Factsheet, PIB — nuclear as clean baseload in India's capacity roadmap 3. India's Installed Nuclear Power Capacity to Triple by 2031-32: Dr. Jitendra Singh, PIB — 22,480 MW by 2031-32; ~1 lakh MW projected need by 2047 4. Nuclear Power in Union Budget 2025-26, Department of Atomic Energy, PIB — ₹20,000 crore Nuclear Energy Mission; 5 SMRs by 2033; BSMR-200, SMR-55, HTGCR 5. PARLIAMENT QUESTION: NUCLEAR ENERGY MISSION, DAE, PIB — proposed amendments to Atomic Energy Act and Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act; task force composition