GSK Velu, chairman, FICCI presenting a memento to M.K. Narayanan, Former National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of India at the FICCI’s TANENERGY Summit 2025 in Chennai on Tuesday. Hans Raj Verma, Director General, COSIDICI and A. Sivathanu Pillai, President and NMC chairman PMA are also seen in the photo.
| Photo Credit: RAGU R
It is critically important to increase the nuclear energy share of our overall energy basket (which is hardly around 3-4% today) to a respectable 10 to 15% in the initial stages and to still higher value later on, said M.K.Narayanan, Former National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of India.
”India’s access to uranium resources worldwide, following the India-US nuclear deal of 2008, the availability of thorium from indigenous resources, and the development of newer and smaller modular nuclear reactors, have all made it possible to contemplate a nuclear renaissance in the near, if not, the immediate future,” he said while speaking at FICCI’s TANENERGY SUMMIT 2025 on the theme ‘Green Energy and Green Manufacturing: Driving Tamil Nadu’s one-trillion dollar growth vision’.
Mr. Narayanan stated that India’s civil nuclear programme is a vital national asset with immense potential for power generation. While acknowledging that nuclear security remains a key challenge requiring utmost care, he emphasised that this should not deter India from fully harnessing nuclear energy to its maximum potential.
A.Sivathanu Pillai, former Chief Controller (R&D), ISRO, and founder-CEO of BrahMos Aerospace, spoke about the need to deploy critical technologies such as methane reduction, CO₂-to-methanol conversion, green coal concepts, renewable and ocean energy, thermal energy, and zero-emission power plants, particularly in Tamil Nadu. While technologies are available, he emphasised that effective implementation is key.
Published – December 17, 2025 12:10 am IST
