Sci-Tech · 17 Aug 2026

Small Modular Reactor SHANTI Act

Consider the following statements:

  1. India's target of 100 GWe nuclear capacity by 2047 was set primarily in response to the electricity demands of artificial intelligence and data centre infrastructure.
  2. The SHANTI Act enables private sector participation, including captive generation, in India's nuclear power sector.
  3. The BSMR-200 is a Small Modular Reactor design being developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre with a capacity of 220 MWe.
AOnly one
BAll three
CNone of the above
DOnly two
This question is based on: India's 100 GWe Nuclear Target Was Built for Climate Goals. AI Just Rewrote Its Deadline.
Take this in full test mode → Instructions for 17 Aug 2026
About this question

Why in news

In his Independence Day address, PM Modi linked the 100 GWe nuclear target to AI and data-centre power needs, the same day the Department of Atomic Energy released draft rules under the SHANTI Act opening private participation in the nuclear sector.

Why for UPSC

This tests whether a current headline (AI driving nuclear policy) is mistaken for a fact's origin - a classic UPSC trap of conflating a new justification for a target with the reason it was originally set.

Prelims summary

India's 100 GWe-by-2047 nuclear target, originally framed around climate goals, is now also linked to AI-driven power demand. The SHANTI Act, 2025 opens private participation in nuclear power; BARC's SMR designs include the 220 MWe BSMR-200, with five indigenous SMRs targeted by 2033.

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