---
title: "Bharat Small Reactor (BSR): India's 220 MW PHWR"
description: "The Bharat Small Reactor is India's 220 MW indigenous PHWR aimed at industrial power and decarbonisation, crucial for sustainable energy initiatives."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/bharat-small-reactor"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- The Bharat Small Reactor is an indigenous 220-megawatt pressurised heavy water reactor that India proposes to deploy for captive industrial and decarbonisation use.
- How does a Bharat Small Reactor differ from a Bharat Small Modular Reactor?
- Why is the Bharat Small Reactor aimed at industry rather than the grid?
- What legal reforms does the BSR programme require?
- Is a 220 MWe PHWR actually a small modular reactor?

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## Timeline

1. 23 July 2024

   The Bharat Small Reactor (BSR) is a policy initiative announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2024-25, presented on , as p…

2. 1 February 2025

   The Budget 2025-26, presented on , sharpened this with a Nuclear Energy Mission targeting 100 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2047 and an allocation reporte…

## Positions at a glance

### Supporters

The Bharat Small Reactor (BSR) is a policy initiative announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2024-25, presented on 23 July 2024, as part of a broader plan to scale India's nuclear capacity in support of the Viksit Bharat and net-zero-by-2070 commitments. The BSR is not a novel reactor design but a redeployment of the proven 220-megawatt-electric (MWe) Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), the indigenous workhorse of the Indian nuclear programme operated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). Its legal foundation rests in the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, which reserves the production, control, and use of atomic energy to the Union government, and the Atomic Energy (Radiation Protection) Rules administered by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). The Budget paired the BSR with a commitment to partner with the private sector for setting up such reactors, research into Bharat Small Modular Reactors (BSMR), and newer nuclear technologies for energy.

### Opponents

Contemporary movement on the initiative has centred on New Delhi and Mumbai. The Department of Atomic Energy and NITI Aayog have advanced proposals to amend the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 (CLNDA), to permit private and foreign participation, signalled again in the 2025-26 Budget. Public-sector heavyweights including NTPC Limited and major private conglomerates such as Tata, Reliance, Adani, and Vedanta have been reported as potential industrial partners or hosts. NTPC's joint venture Ashvini (NTPC-NPCIL) and the NPCIL stable of standardised 700 MWe PHWRs at Kakrapar form the institutional backdrop against which the smaller BSR units would be marketed to industry.

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Example

In the Union Budget 2024-25 on 23 July 2024, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that India would partner the private sector to set up Bharat Small Reactors based on the indigenous 220 MWe PHWR design.

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