India has set a target to establish a minimum of five small modular reactors (SMRs) by the year 2033, with the goal of expanding nuclear energy use and reducing reliance on coal.

The country's Atomic Energy Minister, Jitendra Singh, informed lawmakers on Wednesday that three distinct design models for these SMRs are currently under development. The Mumbai-based Bhabha Atomic Research Centre is leading the development of power reactors with capacities of 220 megawatts and 55 megawatts.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's parliament, Singh stated that the centre, named after nuclear science pioneer Homi Jehangir Bhabha, is also working on a gas-cooled reactor with a capacity of less than 5 megawatts, intended to serve as a heat source for hydrogen production.

India has already invested over $2 billion in the research and development of small modular reactor technology, which is viewed as a pathway for decarbonizing industries that are otherwise difficult to transition away from fossil fuels.