New Delhi, April 28 -- India has a proposal under consideration to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) up to 49% of equity-subject to government approval-in nuclear power plants, as reported. This would be a helpful move. Like the rest of the world, we need fresh sources of clean energy.

Artificial intelligence is power-hungry, and India's AI ambitions add to the usual demand for electricity associated with economic growth and rising standards of living in a country whose usage per head is only a little more than one-third the global average and one-fifth China's.

India is eyeing small modular reactors (SMRs), which promise superior safety at lower cost in comparison with the custom-built reactors we're accustomed to. SMRs benefit fro...