Sri Vijaya Puram | March 22, 2026
Admiral D. K. Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, NM, VSM (Retd.), Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Vice-Chairman of the Islands Development Agency, participated in the Power Minister’s Roundtable at the Bharat Electricity Summit 2026 held on March 20.
The roundtable was chaired by Union Minister for Power, Housing and Urban Affairs, Manohar Lal Khattar.
During his intervention, the Lt. Governor strongly advocated for the consideration of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) for select locations across the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He highlighted that with major infrastructure projects such as the upcoming International Container Transshipment Terminal and new greenfield airports soon to be commissioned, the islands are expected to witness a sharp rise in peak power demand in the coming years.
Pointing to global examples, the Lt. Governor noted that several countries situated in Seismic Zone-V are successfully operating similar nuclear power systems, including offshore barge-mounted floating plants. He emphasised that SMRs offer advantages such as rapid scalability and the potential for freshwater generation through associated cooling systems.
Admiral Joshi also stressed the need for early resolution of power privatisation issues, stating that it would be a key factor in unfolding power matrix roadmap of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
