No duty on goods for N-plants till 2035

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed to extend the exemption of basic customs duty on imports of goods required for nuclear power plants till 2035 as India eyes to increase atomic energy capacity to 100GW by 2047.

Earlier during the winter session of Parliament, the government had enacted the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) law that opens up the tightly controlled civil nuclear sector for private participation.

“I propose to extend the existing basic customs duty exemption on imports of goods required for Nuclear Power Projects till the year 2035 and expand it for all nuclear plants irrespective of their capacity,” Sitharaman said in her Budget speech.

Sitharaman also proposed to support the mineral-rich states of Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to establish dedicated Rare Earth Corridors to promote mining, processing, research and manufacturing.

The Finance Ministry has allocated Rs 24,123.92 crore for the Department of Atomic Energy, of which Rs 9,966.41 crore is set aside for capital expenditure.

India operates 24 nuclear reactors with a combined capacity of around 8780 MW as of 2025. While nuclear accounts for three per cent of the energy mix at present, the government plans to develop it as a source of low-carbon baseload power.

India has set long-term targets to reach 22 GW of nuclear power by 2032 and as much as 100 GW by 2047, with a thrust on developing small modular reactors.