<p>The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025, passed by the Parliament overhauls the country’s nuclear policy, facilitates participation of private players, and provides for foreign funding in the nuclear sector. It repeals the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, which were seen as restricting the sector with its stringent regulatory provisions. Nuclear energy accounts for only 3% of the country’s power output. Liberalisation of the present regime is imperative to meet the government’s 2047 target of 100 GW of nuclear capacity. Climate change necessitates a substantial reduction in coal-based production. Renewable energy output has to be increased, but the production of hydroelectric, solar, and wind power has various constraints, making nuclear energy critical to this transition.</p>.<p>The Bill allows the government to issue licences to government entities, joint ventures, and “any other company’’ to undertake nuclear energy activities. Till now, only the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) was authorised to operate nuclear power facilities. While private participation is envisaged in plant delivery and parts of the supply chain, the sensitive segment of fuel cycles will be under State control. The Bill does away with the suppliers’ liability provisions of the 2010 Act and provides for a graded liability structure commensurate with the generation capacity. It simplifies the legal framework to reduce transaction costs and delays in site approvals and commissioning. The Bill also seeks to encourage research by amending patent regulations.</p>.<p>While opening up the nuclear sector to a larger set of players is in line with the long-term national vision, some of the Bill’s provisions have raised apprehensions. The UPA government’s landmark Indo-US nuclear agreement and the 2010 Act had envisaged the entry of the private sector, but US suppliers were wary of the stiff gate-keeping provisions, especially relating to liability, in the Indian laws. The proposed law, being pushed when trade negotiations are underway between the two countries, eases them. It caps the operator’s liability for a nuclear incident at Rs 3,000 crore and limits the scope of operator recourse, or the right of the operator to recover costs and compensation from suppliers in the event of a nuclear incident. The Opposition has criticised the Bill for allowing private sector participation in the sensitive sector while limiting liability and granting statutory immunity to private players. There is also a legitimate concern over the restricted scope for judicial remedies and the absence of provisions for an independent regulator in the sector.</p>
<p>The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025, passed by the Parliament overhauls the country’s nuclear policy, facilitates participation of private players, and provides for foreign funding in the nuclear sector. It repeals the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, which were seen as restricting the sector with its stringent regulatory provisions. Nuclear energy accounts for only 3% of the country’s power output. Liberalisation of the present regime is imperative to meet the government’s 2047 target of 100 GW of nuclear capacity. Climate change necessitates a substantial reduction in coal-based production. Renewable energy output has to be increased, but the production of hydroelectric, solar, and wind power has various constraints, making nuclear energy critical to this transition.</p>.<p>The Bill allows the government to issue licences to government entities, joint ventures, and “any other company’’ to undertake nuclear energy activities. Till now, only the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) was authorised to operate nuclear power facilities. While private participation is envisaged in plant delivery and parts of the supply chain, the sensitive segment of fuel cycles will be under State control. The Bill does away with the suppliers’ liability provisions of the 2010 Act and provides for a graded liability structure commensurate with the generation capacity. It simplifies the legal framework to reduce transaction costs and delays in site approvals and commissioning. The Bill also seeks to encourage research by amending patent regulations.</p>.<p>While opening up the nuclear sector to a larger set of players is in line with the long-term national vision, some of the Bill’s provisions have raised apprehensions. The UPA government’s landmark Indo-US nuclear agreement and the 2010 Act had envisaged the entry of the private sector, but US suppliers were wary of the stiff gate-keeping provisions, especially relating to liability, in the Indian laws. The proposed law, being pushed when trade negotiations are underway between the two countries, eases them. It caps the operator’s liability for a nuclear incident at Rs 3,000 crore and limits the scope of operator recourse, or the right of the operator to recover costs and compensation from suppliers in the event of a nuclear incident. The Opposition has criticised the Bill for allowing private sector participation in the sensitive sector while limiting liability and granting statutory immunity to private players. There is also a legitimate concern over the restricted scope for judicial remedies and the absence of provisions for an independent regulator in the sector.</p>
