IIT Bombay Launches Nuclear Engineering Programme To Boost India's Clean Energy Ambitions

Mumbai: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has launched a dedicated Nuclear Engineering Programme aimed at strengthening research, education and innovation in the country's nuclear energy sector, in line with India's target of achieving 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047. 

The programme, coordinated by the Green Energy and Sustainability Hub (GESH), has been established with support from an IIT Bombay alumnus from Hostel 4. According to the institute, the initiative is a strategic response to the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act, 2025, which seeks to expand private sector participation and accelerate innovation in the nuclear energy sector. 

"The SHANTI Act has created the conditions for scale, innovation and wider participation. Positioned at the intersection of national policy and technological advancement, IIT Bombay's Nuclear Engineering Programme is being developed in direct response to this shift, with a focus on strengthening research, building indigenous expertise and supporting the country's long-term nuclear energy ambitions," IIT Bombay Director Prof. Shireesh Kedare said. 

A key component of the programme will be research on thorium-based nuclear systems, capitalising on India's vast thorium reserves and supporting the country's three-stage nuclear energy strategy. The institute said the programme will bring together expertise from multiple departments, including Mechanical Engineering, Energy Science and Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, and Electrical Engineering. 

As part of the initiative, IIT Bombay will establish a dedicated Nuclear Measurement Laboratory to integrate research with experiential learning. The institute also plans to collaborate with national laboratories, global academic institutions and industry partners to advance research in nuclear science and engineering. 

The programme is expected to foster collaboration among academia, industry and government while encouraging participation from emerging private-sector stakeholders. IIT Bombay said the initiative is intended to support India's long-term goals of clean, secure and self-reliant energy through technological innovation in advanced nuclear systems. 

The announcement follows the India Nuclear Energy Forum (INEF) 2026, recently hosted at IIT Bombay, where policymakers, industry leaders, researchers and startups deliberated on India's nuclear energy roadmap. During the forum, NITI Aayog member Prof. Abhay Karandikar highlighted the need to strengthen supply chains, develop advanced reactor technologies such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Micro Modular Reactors (MMRs), expand human resource capacity and promote greater private sector participation in the sector.