Nuclear sector to open for private player; which stocks may emerge as likely winners

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced that India's tightly controlled nuclear power sector will soon open to private investment. PM Modi added that the move will accelerate innovation, boost energy security, and position India as a global leader in advanced nuclear technologies.

According to PTI, the government has set an ambitious goal of scaling India's nuclear power capacity to 100 GW by 2047, a massive leap from the current levels of 8.8 GW. To push the same, the government is set to introduce Atomic Energy Bill 2025 in the upcoming Winter Session of the Parliament, which kicks-off from December 1.

The move towards cleaner energy, with little greenhouse gas emission during operations, is likely to benefit a number of companies from capital goods, energy and aerospace sectors, according to market participants. The list includes names from both private and public sectors.

With the upcoming Atomic Energy Bill, 2025 set to allow private participation in reactor construction, uranium supply, and small modular reactor development, India is preparing for a major scale-up of nuclear capacity — targeting around 100 GW by 2047, said Harshal Dasani, Business Head at INVasset PMS. "Nuclear energy provides baseload stability without the carbon footprint of fossil fuels."

According to Dasani, key beneficiaries include names like Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in heavy engineering, MTAR Technologies in precision components, Power Mech Projects in reactor and balance-of-plant construction, and Tata Power in long-term generation partnerships.

Market participants believe that this initiative reflects India’s strategic intent to diversify energy sources and deepen private innovation in high-technology domains. For investors, the opening of the nuclear sector represents a generational opportunity to participate in India’s clean-energy transformation, anchored by policy stability and strong industrial capabilities.

Nuclear power is a reliable base load source, but progress has been slow due to high capital requirements and limited participation, said Prasenjit Paul, Research Analyst at Paul Asset & Fund Manager at 129 Wealth Fund. Allowing private players can improve execution, attract more technology and speed up capacity addition, he said.

In the listed market, players such as L&T and BHEL have prior experience in heavy engineering and reactor-related components. Automation and power-system players like ABB India and Siemens may also benefit indirectly as nuclear expansion increases demand for control systems and grid modernisation, he said.

However, Paul cautioned that investors must understand that these are long-gestation projects, and the actual financial impact will only reflect when orders start flowing. "Therefore, instead of buying stocks purely on expectation, investors should focus on businesses with strong balance sheets, stable cash flows and a long track record in complex infrastructure execution," he adds.