India urged to review green finance rules, build workforce for nuclear expansion

NEW DELHI: India needs to review some of its financing rules and develop a stronger talent pipeline to achieve its ambitious goal of expanding nuclear power capacity to 100 gigawatts (GW) by 2047, officials and industry executives said on Wednesday.

India’s sovereign green bond framework, green deposit and financing rules need to be reviewed as they currently do not cover nuclear investments, said Abhay Karandikar, a member of top government think tank NITI Aayog.

India last year opened its tightly controlled nuclear sector to private companies in a bid to attract foreign technology and investment.

The South Asian nation expects that the industry will require nearly $210 billion of investment to expand capacity from the current level of 8.8 GW.

Global financial institutions, including the World Bank, have started reviews to support investments into nuclear projects, Karandikar said at PowerGen India’s event in New Delhi.

India’s nuclear ambitions may be blunted by limits on foreign reactor technology

The shortage of specialised education and training is a major concern, industry executives said, noting that the country’s clean energy industry is already facing a talent crunch.

“There is a lack of nuclear courses in India, starting from schools to top universities, barring a few premier institutes,” Kalirajan S, managing director of EDF Nuclear Projects India Pvt, said.

France’s EDF has been conducting certification programmes with vendors in India and plans to expand them further to help develop a local nuclear supply chain, he said.

NITI Aayog has formed a committee to look at how India can expand its nuclear expertise at all levels — from technicians to research and development, Karandikar said.