Kishau Multipurpose Project Agreement Signed After Eight-Year Delay

The Kishau Multipurpose Project agreement was signed on Tuesday, marking the resolution of a water dispute that had stalled the project for more than eight years. The project involves the construction of a 232.6-meter-high concrete gravity dam on the Tons River, which flows along the Uttarakhand-Himachal Pradesh border. This dam will have a water storage capacity of 1,562 million cubic meters.

The project is designed to generate 1,476 million units of clean hydropower and irrigate 97,000 hectares of land. The estimated cost of the project was approximately Rs 15,000 crore. The Centre will bear about 90 percent of the financial burden, with the remaining 10 percent covered by participating states, in accordance with a 1994 agreement.

European Investment Bank Funds Steady Energy's SMR Development

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has made its initial investment in small modular reactor (SMR) technology, providing a senior unsecured convertible loan to Steady Energy. This funding is designated for Steady Energy's research and development, testing, and licensing efforts from 2026 to 2028, as the company progresses towards commercial deployment.

This investment marks a shift for the EIB, which has historically focused on nuclear-related safety projects. In recent years, the bank has expanded its nuclear sector involvement, including loans for a Romanian reactor refurbishment and an extension project at the Georges Besse II uranium enrichment plant in southern France.

The EIB's support for Steady Energy is consistent with the European Commission's strategy to introduce Europe's first SMRs by the early 2030s. The bank stated its commitment to a technology-neutral approach that supports the European Union's decarbonization goals, energy supply security, and competitiveness.

Steady Energy, a spin-off from Finland's VTT Technical Research Centre in 2023, is developing the LDR-50 SMR. This reactor has a thermal output of 50 MW and is designed to operate at approximately 150°C. Unlike many SMRs under development globally, the LDR-50 is exclusively designed for heat production, targeting applications such as district heating, industrial steam generation, and desalination.

Steady Energy has already secured agreements for 15 reactors in Finland. The Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) is currently assessing the LDR-50 design. In June 2025, STUK's draft concept assessment indicated that the LDR-50's nuclear and radiation safety, security, emergency, and nuclear material safeguards solutions could be designed to meet safety requirements. The company aims to begin construction of its first plant, intended for a district heating scheme, in 2029.

India's Nuclear Expansion Faces Institutional Challenges

Regulatory and Workforce Demands

The draft SHANTI Act outlines strict regulatory supervision by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) for operators and suppliers across various areas, including siting, design, construction, operation, waste management, and decommissioning. The projected increase in nuclear facilities, even with BSMRs, will significantly expand AERB's oversight responsibilities, necessitating investments in human resources and technology.

Workforce projections for 2047 indicate a need for approximately 61,000 personnel for plant operations, 120,000 for construction, and 5,500 for design activities. Current training institutions in India can only train 100 personnel annually for design and 1,200 for operation, highlighting a substantial gap in skilled labor. Addressing these institutional and human resource capacities is critical for India to meet its nuclear energy targets.

Waste Management for Dispersed SMRs

The deployment of numerous geographically dispersed BSMRs introduces new complexities for radioactive waste management. While SMRs produce smaller quantities of waste individually, the cumulative management of spent fuel and radioactive waste from a multitude of sites requires a robust system. The draft rules mandate operators to have infrastructure and financial resources for on-site waste management and decommissioning, with final disposal and spent fuel management remaining under central government control. This model differs significantly from the current centralized approach for large nuclear power plants.