New Delhi, Aug 15 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India is rapidly working on 10 new nuclear reactors and has pledged to increase its nuclear energy capacity tenfold.

Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day, he said India is taking major initiatives in the field of nuclear energy while keeping the energy needs of the future in mind.

"Work is progressing rapidly on 10 new nuclear reactors and, by 2047, we have pledged to increase our nuclear energy capacity tenfold... We are bringing major reforms in the nuclear energy sector," he said.

"In the field of energy, we all know that we are heavily dependent on many countries for our energy needs whether it is petrol, diesel or gas... We have to spend billions of rupees to import them. It is very important to make the country self-reliant in this regard," Modi said.

The prime minister said that in the past 11 years, solar energy capacity has increased 30-fold.

"We are building new dams so that hydropower can be expanded and clean energy can be made available," he said.

He added that India is also investing thousands of crores of rupees in the Hydrogen Mission. PTI GVS GVS MIN MIN

Nuclear energy expansion pledged to drastically increase capacity and build new reactors to strengthen energy self reliance. India announced a strategic policy commitment to expand nuclear energy by constructing ten new reactors and achieving a tenfold increase in nuclear generation capacity by 2047 as part of broader energy sector reforms to reduce import dependence and strengthen energy self reliance; complementary measures include accelerated solar deployment, hydropower expansion via new dams, and major investment in a national Hydrogen Mission.