☢️ India's nuclear plan has two problems

Good morning.

India wants to multiply its nuclear capacity 12 times over. The ambition is clear. The two things standing in the way? $210 billion and the people who know how to build it.

But first, a kitten named Little Star and the Lego store employee who changed her life.

Little Star is a rescue kitten born with a condition that means she cannot walk. A proper cat wheelchair costs $1,800 and she would outgrow it in weeks.

Her rescuer walked into a Lego store in North Carolina and asked if they could build one instead. An employee named Michael said yes. He built a custom wheelchair from Lego bricks. It worked. Little Star took her first steps. Sometimes the answer is simpler than you think.

What does India want? 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047, up from around 8.8 GW today. That is a 12x expansion in two decades. 

What is in the way? Two things. First, money. Industry officials estimate $210 billion in investment is needed. Current green finance rules do not classify nuclear as "green energy," which locks it out of the growing pool of sustainable finance. 

Second, people. India does not have enough nuclear engineers, technicians, and safety specialists to support this scale of expansion. Building reactors is not like building solar farms. The talent pipeline takes years, not months. Read More → 

Why it matters: Nuclear produces reliable, round-the-clock power with near-zero emissions. Solar and wind are growing fast but cannot run 24/7. If India is serious about its net-zero target, nuclear has to be part of the mix. The ambition is right. The funding model and workforce planning are where the real work begins.

Deep inside Tripura's forests, carved into a hillside, sit thousands of rock sculptures and carvings dating back to the 8th or 9th century. This is Unakoti, and nobody knows for certain who made them or why so many were placed in such a remote location.

The largest carving is a massive Shiva head, rising nearly 30 feet. Surrounding it are figures of Ganesha, Nandi, and hundreds of other deities and forms blending Shaivite art with local tribal traditions. 

"Unakoti" literally means "one less than a crore" - legend says that is how many sculptures were meant to be carved here, with one always remaining unfinished. 

If you have not heard of Unakoti, you are not alone. Most of India has not either. 

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