India's future nuclear sector talent to be trained by Russia's Rosatom & IIT-B

As the Indian government aims to exponentially scale up the country's Nuclear power generation capacity from the existing 8.8Gigawatt to 100Gigawatt by 2047, Russia's Nuclear power agency Rosatom has announced the launch of apilot training program for nuclear industry specialists in India, developed in strategic partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) and a private firm. The first trial training session commenced on Wednesday, (15th April) at the IIT-Bombay campus and is expected to go on till Friday.

Conducted by Rosatom subsidiary JSC Engineering and Technology Center, the program will focus on training using simulators and digital twin technologies for nuclear power plants, supporting practical learning and operational understanding. "The program brings together complementary expertise across industry and academia. JSC Engineering and Technology Centerbrings experience in simulator and digital twin technologies for nuclear power plants, ProSIM contributes capabilities in physics-based modelling and safety analysis, while IIT Bombay brings academic expertise across nuclear science and engineering disciplines," read a statement from Rosatom.

The initiative is said to be aimed at addressing the growing demand for skilled professionals in India’s nuclear energy sector, which requires thousands of trained specialists annually to meet national Nuclear sector goals. Current training capacity, however, delivers only a limited number of qualified professionals each year, highlighting a critical gap in workforce availability, it was mentioned.

“This pilot training at IIT Bombay is more than an educational initiative. It reflects Rosatom’s commitment to supporting the development of India’s nuclear workforce. Alongside advanced technologies, building the capability to operate nuclear infrastructure safely and efficiently will be essential for the sector’s long-term growth,” said a JSC Engineering and Technology Center representative. This training project is expected to attract interest from stakeholders across India’s nuclear ecosystem, including public and private sector organisations, and serve as a foundation for further collaboration in training, research, and technology deployment, it was added.

Russia's Rosatom is constructing and operationalizing India's largest Nuclear power project at Kudankulam, Tamil Nadu, in a phased manner. Of the KKNPP's six VVER-1000 reactors, units 1 and 2 were connected to India’s national power grid in 2013 and 2016 respectively, and currently supply electricity to the southern regions of the country.

Unit 3 is in the pre-commissioning phase, and Units 4,5,6 are in various stages of construction. Each of these reactors can generate 1000Megawatts of power. When fully operational, KKNPP would generate about 6,000Megawatts of power. At present, KKNPP generates 2,000Megawatts, which is about one-fourth of India's total Nuclear power generating capacity.