SMRs are able to produce large volumes of round-the-clock, low-carbon electricity. (Reuters)The country’s top atomic energy regulator is expected to maintain the same rigorous safety and licensing requirements for small modular reactors (SMRs) as those applicable to large nuclear reactors, The Indian Express has learned.This comes even as SMRs are increasingly being pitched as a safer alternative to conventional reactors because of their advanced designs and passive safety systems. The government is currently readying the rules under the SHANTI Act, which opened up the country’s tightly regulated civil nuclear sector to private participation.With capacities ranging from 30 megawatt electric (MWe) to 300 MWe per unit, SMRs are being viewed as a promising option for decarbonising energy-intensive sectors such as steel, aluminium and cement, owing to their ability to produce large volumes of round-the-clock, low-carbon electricity.The regulator’s position is significant given the concerted push in the SHANTI Act to fostering private sector participation in the nuclear sector.The need for stringent safety and licensing requirements have been considered necessary as most prospective domestic entrants in the sector lack experience in operating nuclear facilities.The SHANTI Act, which received the assent of President on December 21, 2025, effectively allows private sector participation for the setting up a nuclear facility, or to carry out activities for the production, use and disposal of nuclear energy under a license from the Central Government and safety authorisation of the country’s nuclear regulator — the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. To address this issue, the regulator views design support from the foreign or domestic technology providers as a precondition for granting licenses to any new entrants. Any company that seeks a license for a nuclear power plant has to have an agreement with a technology provider, from whom they are bringing the technology, to maintain the technology and train the operator to on operating parameters. In the absence of such an arrangement, no license would be given to any company, sources indicated to The Indian Express.After a company secures a licence by establishing the required arrangements with the technology provider, the regulator will monitor compliance on an annual basis, including whether plant operators are receiving the necessary training from the technology provider.Story continues below this adThe licensing framework is expected to remain the same for both SMRs and large reactors, notwithstanding the nascent state of India’s SMR ecosystem and the domestic policy push for these small reactors. India’s nuclear power programme has so far been anchored by indigenous pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs), which use heavy water as both coolant and moderator and natural uranium as fuel. Even though PHWRs will continue to form the backbone of the country’s nuclear expansion plans, SMRs are increasingly viewed as technology of promise that could help in industrial decarbonisation. SMRs are also becoming the focal point in India’s international outreach for nuclear collaborations, with the high project costs of large light water reactors triggering questions about the feasibility of their large-scale deployment in India. Last month a visiting high-powered American nuclear delegation was informed, in their meetings with top government functionaries, of India’s ambitions to progressively enter the manufacturing value chain of SMRs. It is learnt that India is actively seeking foreign expertise and investment to support the development of a domestic SMR ecosystem.