Adani Power Limited enters nuclear segment as India opens sector

India’s leading power company, Adani Power Limited (NSE: ADANIPOWER), has incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary, Adani Atomic Energy Limited, marking its formal entry into the country’s nuclear power generation industry at a time when New Delhi has tweaked its nuclear energy policy framework to open the sector to the private sector.

According to a stock exchange filing by Mumbai-listed Adani Power, the new subsidiary was incorporated in India on February 11, 2026, after securing the certificate of incorporation from the Registrar of Companies. The new company will generate, transmit and distribute nuclear-based power. The move also indicates Adani Power’s desire to diversify beyond thermal and renewable assets.

Adani Atomic Energy Limited has been set up with authorised capital of INR0.5mn divided into 50,000 equity shares of INR10 each, fully subscribed in cash by the parent company, which retains 100% ownership.

Adani's decision aligns well with a broader transformation in the country’s nuclear policy landscape. The Government of India late last year introduced the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025, aimed at modernising and consolidating the nation’s nuclear legal architecture while preparing the sector for large-scale expansion.

For decades, India’s nuclear energy sector operated under the framework dating back to the early years of the country’s atomic programme, with operations mainly in the hands of state-owned companies and under a highly controlled environment. While this ensured strategic oversight and safety, the framework hindered the speed at which nuclear capacity could grow to meet increasing energy demand and decarbonisation goals.

The SHANTI framework looks to address these constraints by creating a unified legislative structure that eases licensing, strengthens safety oversight and introduces clearer regulatory and liability mechanisms. A main feature of the new framework is the statutory recognition of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, strengthening its authority and institutional independence as nuclear capacity expands.

The most striking feature of the framework from the point of view of industry players is that the legislation allows controlled private participation in nuclear power generation and selected supply-chain activities. These include plant operations, component manufacturing and certain stages of nuclear fuel processing under strict regulatory supervision. However, strategically sensitive areas, such as enrichment, reprocessing, management of spent fuel and high-level waste, remain in the domain of the central government and its institutions.

The new law also introduces graded liability structures instead of a single liability cap, allowing liability limits to vary depending on the type and characteristics of nuclear installations. This endeavour is to balance investor confidence with public safety safeguards while making financing of nuclear projects much smoother, which invariably require long investment horizons and large capital deployment.

The Indian government sees nuclear power as highly strategic for India’s energy transition, especially as renewable energy sources such as solar and wind grow rapidly but need reliable round-the-clock backup generation. Nuclear power offers stable, low-carbon baseload electricity without the intermittency challenges associated with renewable sources, making it attractive for supporting energy-intensive sectors such as manufacturing, data centres and urban infrastructure.

Nuclear power at present contributes only a small fraction of overall electricity generation, though capacity enhancement plans are ambitious. Indigenous reactor programmes and international technology partnerships are likely to increase installed nuclear capacity over the next few years, while the government has also announced a long-term mission to increase nuclear energy capacity significantly by 2047 as part of the country’s clean energy strategy.

Within this evolving policy framework, Adani Power’s move signals growing private-sector interest in positioning for participation in future nuclear projects. The Adani Group has already become as one of India’s biggest privately-owned power generators across thermal and renewable energy. Its entry into the nuclear power space could provide long-term portfolio diversification while supporting national clean energy goals.

The incorporation of a dedicated nuclear subsidiary suggests that private energy companies are beginning to prepare for the next phase of India’s power sector evolution. As policy reforms under the SHANTI framework move forward and operational guidelines emerge, participation by large infrastructure players could accelerate development of domestic supply chains, advanced reactor technologies and long-term clean energy capacity.

India’s nuclear energy mission

According to data from the Department of Atomic Energy, India currently has 24 nuclear reactors across seven locations, with a combined installed capacity of 8.78 GW.

These plants are located in the western, northern and southern parts of the country. Most of the reactors are indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs), supplemented by Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) and Russian-designed VVER reactors.

The Indian government in the Union Budget 2025-26 announced allocation of INR200bn to drive design, development and deployment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). The target is to have at least five indigenously designed SMRs to be operational by 2033, strengthening India’s clean energy roadmap.

Some of the initiatives of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) include 200 MWe Bharat Small Modular Reactor (BSMR‑200), 55 Mwe (Megawatt electrical) SMR‑55, up to 5 MWth (Megawatt thermal) High‑temperature gas‑cooled reactor for hydrogen generation.

When it comes to strategic aim, the government wants to position India as a leader in advanced nuclear technologies while ensuring sustainable energy security with long term goals to achieve 100 GW by 2047.