Union Budget 2026 | Sitharaman proposes to extend custom duty exemption on imports of goods required for nuclear projects till 2035

New Delhi: Weeks after opening up the nuclear sector to private companies, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed to exempt the basic customs duty on import of goods needed for atomic power projects for the next ten years while substantially hiking the allocation for indigenous nuclear R&D projects.

In another boost to science research, four major proposals from Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru including setting up of three astronomical telescopes in Ladakh received the Centre’s nod with Sitharaman noting that such projects would promote astronomy and astrophysics in India.

“To promote astrophysics and astronomy, four telescope infrastructure facilities will be set up or upgraded - the National Large Solar Telescope, the National Large Optical infrared Telescope, the Himalayan Chandra Telescope and the COSMOS 2 Planetarium.” All the three telescopes will be located in Ladakh.

The NLST will be a 2 mt class telescope that would be set up on the banks of Pangong Tso while NLOIT will be a larger more than 10-mt class telescope to be established at Hanle in Ladakh. The proposals for setting up the two observatories were long-pending.

Upgrading the Himalayan Chandra Telescope would mean setting up a new 3-mt class telescope near the existing observatory that has been operational since 2000, sources said.

The COSMOS-2 planetarium will come up at Amravati in Andhra Pradesh for which IIA has signed a pact with Andhra Pradesh government a few months ago.

On the nuclear energy front, Sitharaman proposed to extend the existing basic customs duty exemption on imports of goods required for nuclear power projects till 2035 and expand it for all nuclear plants irrespective of their capacity.

This comes in the wake of the Union government enacting the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) legislation that opens up the civilian nuclear power to the private sector after almost eight decades.

The government has set targets of achieving 22 GW of nuclear energy by 2032; 47 GW by 2037, 67 GW by 2042 and 100 GW by 2047, contributing nearly 10 per cent of India’s total energy needs. Half of the nuclear energy needs are to be fulfilled by the private sector.

The allocation for R&D projects undertaken at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has been almost doubled to Rs 1,800 crore from last year’s BE of Rs 1100 crore that was further slashed to Rs 919 crore at the RE stage.

The Centre has sanctioned Rs 2,500 crore for the nuclear power project, enhancing it from last year’s BE of Rs 2,086 crore that was cut down to Rs 1,333 crore in the revised estimate.