India opens nuclear sector to private foreign investment

India has proposed draft rules to open its nuclear power sector to private and foreign investment, allowing reactor technologies with proven overseas track records. The draft regulations, under the Nuclear Energy Act, establish a staged approval process: companies first secure in-principle approval to engage vendors and acquire land, then obtain a formal license, followed by regulatory scrutiny at design, siting, construction, commissioning, and operation stages. Regulators would have power to halt work at key stages. This follows last year's amendment to the nuclear energy act that permitted private companies to build and operate nuclear projects while retaining government control over licensing and strategic materials. The move aims to attract private capital and foreign technology to expand nuclear capacity 12-fold to 100 GW over two decades. India has invited domestic conglomerates including Adani Green, Tata Power, and Reliance Industries to invest. The amendments also capped supplier liability in accidents, addressing concerns of foreign vendors such as General Electric, Westinghouse Electric, and EDF. The draft rules are open for public consultation.