India is opening up its nuclear energy industry to the private sector, echoing a global shift toward atomic power.
The bill, approved by the Indian parliament Thursday, is poised to unlock a new source for the country’s energy mix: Nuclear provides just 3% of India’s electricity, and until now has been state-controlled. After decades of underinvestment, more countries are embracing nuclear in part due to ballooning demand for energy to power AI data centers: At least 31 nations have pledged to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050.
New Delhi’s opposition politicians, though, argued the changes will only benefit a handful of conglomerates — the Adani Group, the Tata Group, and Reliance Industries — who already enjoy considerable control over Indian industry.
