Modi, Putin to discuss nuclear cooperation beyond Kudankulam– fuel cycle ties, building Small Modular Reactors

New Delhi: The forthcoming meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin will see India and Russia discuss ways to expand bilateral atomic energy cooperation, taking it beyond the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant to include collaboration in the areas of Small Modular Reactors and fuel cycle.

Putin will reach New Delhi on Thursday for a two-day visit. He will hold the 23rd annual India-Russia summit with Modi, apart from meeting President Droupadi Murmu.

The bilateral nuclear energy cooperation is likely to top the agenda of the summit. The two sides will review the progress of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu – the flagship project of India-Russia bilateral cooperation in the field of atomic power.

The first and second units of the KNPP, with two Russian VVER 1000 pressurised water reactors, started commercial operation in 2014 and 2017, respectively.

The third unit is currently undergoing pre-startup operations and preparing for safety tests, according to Rosatom, the state-owned atomic energy corporation of Russia.

A source in New Delhi said that India would ask Russia to speed up construction and installation works, as well as the delivery of equipment for the fourth unit.

When Modi and Putin had met in Moscow for the 22nd summit in July 2024, the two sides had agreed on adhering to the schedule for the remaining units of the KNPP, including the timelines for delivery of supplies.

The KNPP is proposed to have altogether six VVER-1000 reactors with an installed capacity of 1,000 MWe each.

The construction of the fifth and sixth units of the KNPP would be reviewed during the 23rd summit in New Delhi this week, the source told DH.

Moscow is also keen to discuss with New Delhi the pending proposal for two additional units at the KNPP, with VVER 1200 reactors.

With the Modi Government in New Delhi announcing a Nuclear Energy Mission in the Union Budget 2025-26, Russia has also been asking for a second site in India to develop another nuclear power plant.

The issue may come up for discussion in the Modi-Putin summit in New Delhi. The two sides are also likely to discuss cooperation in building Small Modular Reactors or SMRs. The Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited (MAHAGENCO) and Rosatom already inked an MoU earlier this year for developing an SMR to run on thorium. Moscow has conveyed to New Delhi its interest in expanding cooperation in the sector.

The SMRs will have a key role in the endeavours to bring to reality the vision of the Modi Government to augment India’s nuclear power generation capacity to 100 GW by 2047.

In its discussion with Moscow, New Delhi has been insisting on further localisation of the manufacturing of equipment in India, said the source.