New Delhi, Feb. 1 -- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced a series of measures to strengthen India's nuclear energy programme and secure access to critical minerals, outlining them as key pillars of the country's long-term energy transition and manufacturing strategy in the union Budget for 2026-27.
These include amendments to the Atomic Energy Act and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, duty exemptions on critical mineral imports, a policy on recovery of tailings from critical mineral mines, and a Rs 20,000 crore Nuclear Energy Mission to develop Small Modular Reactors.
In her budget speech, Sitharaman said the government will introduce a policy for the recovery of critical minerals from mine tailings, an initi...