New Delhi: In a major push to atomic power in the country, the Union Cabinet today gave its approval for construction of 10 indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors with which, a fresh nuclear capacity of 7,000 Megawatt (MW) will be added.India has current installed nuclear power capacity of 6,780 MW from 22 operational plants. Another 6,700 MWs of nuclear power is expected to come onstream by 2021-22 through projects presently under construction.The reactors will be fully home-grown and will be one of the flagship initiatives of the government under “Make in India”. The ten reactors will be part of India’s latest design of 700 MW PHWR fleet with state-of-art technology meeting the highest standards of safety.With likely manufacturing orders of close to 70,000 crores to the domestic industry, the project will help transform Indian nuclear industry by linking our goal of a strong nuclear power sector with our indigenous industrial capacities in high-end technologies, an official release said.Talking to the media here on the development, minister Piyush Goyal said this project will bring about substantial economies of scale and maximise cost and time efficiencies by adopting fleet mode for execution.He further said it is expected to generate more than 33,400 jobs in direct and indirect employment. With manufacturing orders to domestic industry, it will be a major step towards strengthening India’s credentials as a major nuclear manufacturing powerhouse.“The approval also marks a statement of strong belief in the capability of India’s scientific community to build our technological capacities. The design and development of this project is a testament to the rapid advances achieved by India’s nuclear scientific community and industry. It underscores the mastery our nuclear scientists have attained over all aspects of indigenous PHWR technology. India’s record of building and operating PHWR reactors over the last nearly forty years is globally acclaimed,” the official release said.With the set up of these reactors, Goyal reiterated that it reflects the country’s commitment to prioritise the use of clean power in India’s energy mix, as part of low-carbon growth strategy and to ensure long-term base load requirement for the nation’s industrialisation.It also supports India’s commitment to sustainable development, energy self-sufficiency and bolsters global efforts to combat climate change, he said.