“Regulatory Easing Opens the Door” India Turns to Nuclear Market Liberalization After Power Crisis, Raising Prospects for Korea-U.S. Partnership

U.S. begins nuclear cooperation talks in step with India’s SHANTI Act
Korea’s integrated nuclear value chain seen as viable solution to U.S. supply-chain bottlenecks
India’s expanding nuclear demand amid chronic power shortages could turn market into global battleground

The United States is reviewing potential entry into India’s nuclear power market. As India accelerates efforts to expand nuclear generation capacity to address chronic electricity shortages, Washington has begun discussions with the Indian government in tandem with sweeping regulatory easing measures. Market observers argue that, with the U.S. nuclear supply chain having effectively lost much of its industrial depth, South Korea could emerge as a critical strategic partner thanks to its manufacturing capabilities, engineering experience, and skilled workforce.

U.S. Push Into India’s Nuclear Market

On May 19 local time, Indian outlet Business Standard reported that a delegation led by executives from the U.S. Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), currently visiting India, had launched a series of meetings with senior Indian government officials aimed at establishing private-sector partnerships. The discussions come ahead of detailed implementation rules for India’s SHANTI Act, signaling a significant acceleration in bilateral nuclear cooperation talks. The SHANTI Act is designed to ease India’s historically stringent nuclear regulations, including its nuclear liability regime that effectively imposed unlimited responsibility on equipment suppliers in the event of accidents, as well as strict caps limiting private and foreign ownership stakes to 49%.

The regulatory framework is widely understood to have originated from the aftermath of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster in Madhya Pradesh. As a result, U.S. companies such as General Electric (GE) and Westinghouse Corporation repeatedly faced barriers to entering India’s nuclear market, while France’s EDF also ultimately withdrew from the country. The situation has shifted, however, as India recently moved to draft more flexible legislation. According to reports, the SHANTI Act’s implementation rules would limit the legal liability of nuclear suppliers in line with international standards while raising the ceiling on private and foreign ownership to roughly 70%.

Maria Korsnick, president and CEO of NEI, stated in a local interview that “U.S. companies are closely monitoring the follow-up legislative process surrounding the SHANTI Act and will begin full-scale cooperation between private firms in reactor technology, fuel, and logistics.” The remarks suggest a strategy aimed at securing influence across India’s broader nuclear ecosystem, including reactor design, fuel technology, and logistics infrastructure, by leveraging deregulation. Reports indicate that both sides discussed private investment in India’s nuclear sector, industrial cooperation, and clean-energy collaboration during the meetings.

Korea Emerges as Supply-Chain Partner

Industry analysts believe South Korean nuclear supply-chain companies could benefit significantly if the United States advances into the Indian market. The primary reason lies in severe bottlenecks across America’s domestic nuclear supply chain. While the U.S. nuclear industry maintains strengths in reactor design and plant operation technologies, decades of near-total stagnation in new nuclear construction have sharply weakened the country’s heavy industrial manufacturing base for critical components. Suppliers capable of producing nuclear-grade forged parts, specialized valves, and piping systems remain extremely limited, while shortages of skilled welders, nondestructive testing specialists, and nuclear project managers have also become acute.

Against this backdrop, South Korea is increasingly viewed as one of the few countries capable of filling America’s supply-chain gaps. Korea possesses an integrated nuclear value chain encompassing the standardized APR1400 reactor model, Doosan Enerbility’s manufacturing capacity for core nuclear equipment, construction expertise from Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Samsung C&T, and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power’s operational know-how. Should this framework materialize, the United States would likely handle technology licensing, nuclear fuel, and diplomatic support, while Korea would take charge of equipment procurement and EPC operations under a division-of-labor structure.

Recent U.S. efforts to restore its domestic nuclear supply chain in cooperation with Korean firms have further strengthened such expectations. Doosan Enerbility, for instance, has supplied key components including reactor vessels, steam generators, and pump casings for Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactors, with additional cooperation being discussed for new U.S. nuclear projects as well as developments in Poland and Eastern Europe. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries was also selected as the preferred bidder to manufacture and supply reactor enclosure system (RES) equipment for TerraPower’s next-generation sodium-cooled small modular reactor (SMR). Multiple U.S. think tanks and industry reports have repeatedly argued that any meaningful American nuclear renaissance would require the heavy industrial foundations of South Korea and Japan.

Why India Is Expanding Nuclear Power

If bilateral cooperation gains momentum, Korea’s nuclear industry could secure a highly advantageous position within India’s rapidly expanding nuclear market. India has struggled with chronic power shortages for decades. According to analysis released last year by the International Energy Agency (IEA), India’s electricity demand is projected to grow faster than that of any other major economy through 2028. The surge is being driven by industrial development policies, expanding data centers, electric vehicle adoption, and rising air-conditioner penetration. Yet the pace of power-grid and generation expansion continues to lag behind demand growth. India still relies on coal-fired generation for roughly 70% of its electricity output, while transmission losses and aging infrastructure remain serious structural issues.

India has attempted to address these problems by rapidly expanding renewable energy capacity. As international pressure to reduce carbon emissions intensifies, the country has sought to increase generation while lowering dependence on coal. Yet the actual effectiveness of renewable-energy expansion remains limited. Factories, data centers, and industrial complexes consuming vast amounts of electricity require stable 24-hour power supplies, while household cooling demand surges around the clock during the summer. These realities create supply gaps that cannot be fully addressed through solar power, which cannot generate electricity at night, or wind power, which remains heavily dependent on seasonal and weather conditions. Maintaining overall grid stability therefore requires baseload power capable of supplying electricity regardless of weather or time while producing minimal carbon emissions. At present, nuclear energy represents the most practical solution satisfying those conditions.

The Indian government has also steadily raised its nuclear expansion targets in recognition of these realities. In 2023, New Delhi officially announced plans to increase nuclear generation capacity from approximately 7 gigawatts (GW) to 22.4GW by 2031–2032, alongside proposals to construct 18 new reactors. In 2024, foreign media reports indicated that the Indian government and state-owned nuclear operator NPCIL were reviewing plans to secure as much as 100GW of nuclear capacity by 2047. Current discussions surrounding the SHANTI Act appear to reinforce India’s broader commitment to nuclear expansion. Market analysts increasingly expect multiple nuclear-exporting nations, alongside the United States and South Korea, to aggressively pursue entry into India as the country moves forward with its massive reactor buildout plans.