Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) has extended the deadline for proposals from companies interested in developing Bharat Small Reactors (BSRs) by another six months, with six major industrial players already having formally responded to its Request for Proposals (RFP), World Nuclear News reported on October 8.

The BSRs are compact 220 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors designed for captive industrial use. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman first announced the initiative in the July 2024 Union Budget as a public-private partnership model aimed at supporting India’s net-zero commitments. The project is part of a broader effort to decarbonise industrial power consumption by deploying small modular nuclear units across key manufacturing hubs.

NPCIL originally issued the RFP on December 31, 2024, with an initial deadline of March 31, 2025. The date has since been extended multiple times to accommodate growing industry interest. The latest update, released on September 29, now sets the new deadline for March 31, 2026, World Nuclear News noted.

According to NPCIL, around 70 delegates representing 27 public and private sector industries attended a pre-proposal meeting in February. As of late September, six companies had submitted the required documentation to proceed with the RFP process. These companies are Hindalco, Jindal Steel & Power, Tata Power, Reliance Industries, JSW Energy, and Adani Power.

Hindalco Industries, Jindal Steel & Power, Tata Power, and Reliance Industries have submitted and signed non-disclosure agreements, subsequently collecting tentative Bill of Quantities, plant performance, and operational data. JSW Energy and Adani Power have submitted their documents for NDA processing, which are currently under review.

The six companies have also identified potential BSR sites and submitted preliminary reports covering 16 locations — five in Gujarat, four in Madhya Pradesh, three in Odisha, two in Andhra Pradesh, and one each in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. NPCIL confirmed that it has reached out to the governments of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha to facilitate site investigations, land acquisition, and water allocation for the projects.

NPCIL said the companies sought an extension to the 30 September deadline to allow more time for evaluating sites, and calculating capital expenditure and operating costs. It added that several other industrial groups have expressed new interest in establishing BSRs and are currently in discussions with the corporation.

Under the proposed RFP framework, participating companies will bear full responsibility for financing, constructing, and operating the reactors throughout their lifecycle, including decommissioning. The plants will be built under NPCIL’s supervision and transferred to NPCIL for operation upon completion. The users will receive rights to the electricity generated for their captive consumption and may sell surplus power in compliance with national regulations, World Nuclear News added.

The BSR initiative reflects India’s strategic push to expand its clean energy portfolio and provide industries with a stable, carbon-free power source. As global manufacturing shifts toward low-carbon production, the move is seen as a critical step in maintaining India’s industrial competitiveness while advancing its long-term climate goals, World Nuclear News said.

 

© 2025 bne IntelliNews, source Magazine