Having an indigenous LWR, alongside the exis­­ting fleet of pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR), is expected to boost India’s leverage in dealing with foreign vendors to secure better terms in imports, officials said. The legal changes are seen within the establishment as necessary to tap the dominant global LWR ecosystem, even as India retains its core strengths in other reactor types. India’s civil nuclear programme has deep expertise in manufacturing heavy water reactors from 220 MWe PHWRs to the new 700 MWe units. Based on heavy water (deuterium) and natural uranium, PHWRs are a technology that India’s nuclear establishment has mastered. LWRs currently account for over 85% of the civil nuclear reactor capacity in the world.

Source: Indian Express January 20, 2026 05:12 UTC