# India, France discuss EPR nuclear reactors and pumped hydro projects 2026-09-26T05:36:54+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets India and France held talks on September 26 to discuss the deployment of French EPR nuclear reactor technology in India, along with localisation of the nuclear supply chain and cooperation on pumped hydro storage projects. Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal met EDF Chairman Bernard Fontana in New Delhi for the discussions. The meeting covered India's regulatory reforms for the nuclear sector, including the draft SHANTI rules that provide for a streamlined licensing framework and enable private and foreign participation in India's nuclear power programme, the Ministry of Power said. EDF briefed the Indian side on its efforts to build a domestic ecosystem and supply chain in India for large-scale localisation. Separately, NTPC and EDF signed a 50:50 joint venture agreement on September 25 to develop pumped storage projects, hydropower projects and other renewable energy projects in India and neighbouring countries. The two sides aim to align with India's goal of 100 GW installed capacity of pumped storage projects by 2036. ## Indian Opinion Analysis All three sources cover the India-France nuclear and energy talks as straight official announcements, attributing facts to ministry releases and meeting statements without critical framing or omission. The Economic Times story is behind a paywall in the excerpt available but presents no editorial stance. The Hindu and Business Line both lead with the EPR reactor deployment discussions and the NTPC-EDF joint venture, with Business Line providing more detail on the draft SHANTI regulatory rules. The coverage is uniformly neutral, reporting government and corporate positions without scrutiny or opposition. The significance lies in the timing: the SHANTI draft rules signal a policy shift to allow private and foreign investment in India's nuclear sector. The next step is the conclusion of the stakeholder consultation on those rules. ## Coverage - economictimes.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Paywalled excerpt shows straight news summary of talks. - thehindubusinessline.com (neutral report) Leads with meeting details and ministry release, no critique. - thehindu.com (neutral report) Reports JV signing as corporate announcement, no framing. Tags: EDF, France, NPCIL, NTPC, Pankaj Agarwal, SHANTI Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/india-france-discuss-epr-nuclear-reactors-and-supply-chain-localisation/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/india-france-discuss-epr-nuclear-reactors-and-supply-chain-localisation/#story-in-brief