Maharashtra to plan nuclear shift with new 'Small Modular Reactors', says CM Fadnavis

Davos [Switzerland], January 22 (ANI): Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday announced the signing of Memorandums of Understanding with an Indian and a Russian company. The Chief Minister stated that these partnerships will focus on "Small Modular Reactors" to meet the large-scale electricity needs.
When asked if there have been discussions about using nuclear energy in smaller clusters, Devendra Fadnavis said, "We have basically taken the initiative in this regard, and the first project will probably be in Maharashtra. This is because we have signed MoUs with both an Indian government company and a Russian company.
He also said, "Now, due to the new developments in the civil utilisation of nuclear energy, we are going to develop Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)." "SMRs are a means to meet the large-scale electricity needs we will have in the coming days, especially when data centres, the circular economy, municipal corporations, the private sector, and financial institutions collaborate to fund them," he added.
Meanwhile, at the ongoing Davos summit, the head of the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), Pradip Kumar Das, said on Wednesday that a strong clean energy system built by the Indian government over the last decade is now a model for the rest of the world. Speaking at the World Economic Forum, he highlighted that India has created a perfect environment for international companies to invest in green power projects.
Explaining the success of the Indian model, the Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA), Pradip Kumar Das, said, "We have come here to share the information, the ecosystem which the government of India has built in the last 10-11 years, in particular. The way renewables have grown in India over the last decade, and more, is an example for any global player to learn from the ecosystem the government of India has built. The CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) over the last five years is 22.5 per cent. We will not find such a CAGR growth in any industry. Many foreign investors are investing in India, and IREDA is the leading agency for RE financing in the country. We are the largest pure-play green finance company in the country."
Further, an MoU was also signed with Sembcorp Development Ltd., Singapore, for sustainable, low-carbon industrial ecosystems across strategic corridors in Palghar, Raigad, and Kharbav.
MMRDA signed an MoU with the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany, for advanced mobility engineering, climate-resilient planning, and transit-oriented development, along with Urban Futures Collective, London, and a global academic consortium including MIT Media Lab and UCL, to develop open-source digital twins for evidence-based metropolitan governance. (ANI)