By: Express News ServiceMumbai | November 17, 2025 09:22 PM IST 3 min readChief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis said until now, the nuclear energy sector was primarily the domain of the Central government. (Source: Express Archives)Maharashtra became the first state in the country to participate in nuclear power generation after the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited (MAHAGENCO) signed an MoU with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at his official residence ‘Varsha’ in Mumbai on Monday.ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO“The country is developing rapidly, and the main foundation for this development is clean and reliable energy,” said Fadnavis adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policy to make India an ‘energy self-sufficient and clean-energy capable nation’ is encouraging increased state participation in nuclear power generation.Fadnavis said until now, the nuclear energy sector was primarily the domain of the Central government. The Chief Minister stressed that this MoU is timely and highly important, as clean energy is the most crucial fuel for data centres. He noted that Maharashtra is becoming the “Data Centre Capital’ of India, with approximately 50–60 per cent of the country’s data centre capacity located in the state, a figure that is consistently growing.”“The state government will actively take the lead in this project and provide all necessary cooperation. This step taken by MAHAGENCO, the Energy Department, and MITRA is a historic and significant event in Maharashtra’s energy sector,” he said.The MoU was formally signed by Radhakrishnan B, Chairman and Managing Director of MAHAGENCO, and B C Pathak, Chairman and Managing Director of NPCIL.The event was attended by Additional Chief Secretary of the Energy Department Aabha Shukla, CEO of Maharashtra Institute for Transformation (MITRA), Praveen Pardeshi, Joint CEO of MITRA Aman Mittal; and other senior officials from MAHAGENCO and NPCIL.According to press statement issued by the CM’s office, the power generation landscape is increasingly being dominated by renewable sources such as solar and wind, alongside nuclear energy.Story continues below this ad“India aims to become a “$30 trillion economy” by 2047, necessitating major changes in its energy sector. To meet the rising electricity demand and achieve the goal of ‘Net-Zero Emissions by 2070’, nuclear power is expected to play a vital role, providing 24/7 electricity with low life-cycle CO2 emissions,” it said.The country currently operates 25 nuclear reactors across seven locations with an installed capacity of 8,880 MW. Eight more reactors are under construction, including a 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor. Plans are underway for 10 additional reactors totaling 7,000 MW. The central government has provisioned Rs 20,000 crore for the development of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd