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N EW DELHI, Dec 18 (Reuters) – India’s parlia- ment approved on Thursday a landmark atomic energy bill that allows private and foreign companies to enter the nuclear power sector, as the energy-hungry country targets a tenfold jump in nuclear power capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2047. The legislation marks a major shift for the sector which has so far been tightly controlled by the state. State-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India owns and operates the country’s fleet of nuclear power plants that have a total capacity of 8.8 gigawatts. Reuters reported last year that India was looking to invite domestic private firms such as Tata Power, Adani Power and Reliance Industries to invest about $26 billion in the sector. Under the new law, private companies would need to obtain licences to operate nuclear power plants, while foreign firms can participate through partnerships with Indian companies. -REUTERS www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know US India News India Times (December 20, 2025 - December 26, 2025) December 26, 2025 7 Indian Parliament Approves Landmark Atomic Energy Bill To Open Nuclear Power To Private Sector W ashington DC, Decem- ber 18, 2025: The United States regards India as a crucial potential partner in efforts to secure global supply chains for artificial intelligence and semiconductors, a senior American official has said, whilst dismissing sug- gestions that political tensions prevented India’s participation in a recentWashing- ton summit. Jacob Helberg, the US Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, announced he would attend the India AI Impact Summit in February asWashington seeks to deepen collaboration with New Delhi on what he termed “economic security matters”. Speaking to reporters virtually on the Pax Silica Summit inWashington on Wednesday,Helberg addressed questions about India’s absence from the gathering, which broughttogether technologically advanced economies to coordinate strat- egy on AI infrastructure and semiconduc- tor supply chains. “I want to be clear that the conversa- tions between the United States and India pertaining to trade arrangements are a completely separate and parallel track to our discussions on supply chain security,” Helberg said. “We are not conflating those two things.” He emphasised that India was not “excluded” from the summit due to diplomatic friction, but is currently en- gaged through bilateral discussions rather than the multilateral framework. “We view India as a highly strategic po- tential partner on supply chain security- related efforts, and we welcome the op- portunity to engage with them,” he added, noting that officials from both countries remain in daily communication. The Under Secretary said his atten- dance at February’s Delhi summit would provide an opportunity to establish “tan- gible milestones” for US-India coopera- tion. “We are actively determining ways of actually deepening that collaboration quickly,” Helberg said, adding that the event would yield substantial developments in bilateral economic security arrangements. The Pax Silica initiative, unveiled at the December summit, represents what organisers describe as a fundamental shift in howWashington approaches economic policy–prioritising national security over traditional trade considerations. By Reena Bhardwaj, ANI PHOTO:X@UnderSecEvia ANI US Views India As ‘‘Highly Strategic Partner” For AI And Supply Chain Security Jacob Helberg, the US Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs F rom December 15-16, 2025, the United States convened a successful G20 Sherpa meeting inWashington, attended by representatives from India, the African Union, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Euro- pean Union, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom. Poland also attended as the only full guest participant of the U.S. host year, a December 18 press release from the State Department said. On December 1, the United States assumed the G20 2026 Presidency, which coincides with America’s 250th birthday. “Under President Trump’s leadership, the United States is committed to returning the G20 back to its core economic agenda and delivering real economic results,” the statement from the State Department said. President Trump will host the G20 Leaders’ Summit from December 14-15, 2026, at Trump National Doral Miami. At the first event of the U.S. G20 presi- dency, the United States reiterated its pri- orities: “unleashing economic prosperity by limiting regulatory burdens, unlocking reliable and affordable energy options, and pioneering new innovative technolo- gies.” The United States launched work- ing groups to develop concrete deliver- ables for each of these themes, and also launched an additional working group to identify areas of consensus on trade issues. “The four working groups of the U.S. host year focus on key economic issues worthy of discussion by world leaders,” the press release said. By A StaffWriter PHOTO Facebook @G20 United States US Hosts First G20 Sherpa Meeting Attended By India, Other Countries President Trump announcing the venue for the 2026 G20 meeting December 1, 2025.