India's atomic energy bill tabled in parliament

The bill, approved by the Indian cabinet on 12 December, has been titled the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill, 2025 - or SHANTI, for short. The proposed legislation seeks to repeal the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, and replace them with a single, comprehensive law aligned with India's present and future energy requirements, according to a statement from the Department of Atomic Energy.

"According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons accompanying the Bill, sustained research and development have enabled India to achieve self-reliance across the nuclear fuel cycle and to operate its nuclear power programme in a responsible manner. With this experience in place, the government sees scope to significantly enhance nuclear installed capacity to support clean energy security and provide reliable round-the-clock power for emerging needs such as data centres and future-ready applications," the Department of Atomic Energy said.

India needs to harness its own nuclear resources more fully and enable "active participation of both public and private sectors, while also positioning India as a contributor to the global nuclear energy ecosystem" if it is to meet its decarbonisation goals and its target of achieving 100 gigawatts of nuclear power capacity by 2047, the department said.

As well as provisions on licensing and regulation for nuclear and radiation technologies in areas such as healthcare, food and agriculture, industry and research, the bill "proposes a revised and pragmatic civil liability framework for nuclear damage, confers statutory status on the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, and strengthens mechanisms related to safety, security, safeguards, quality assurance and emergency preparedness".

The bill will also enable private companies, including joint ventures and other entities, to apply for licences to set up and operate nuclear facilities and to transport nuclear fuel. Some activities - including uranium enrichment, the management of used fuel and heavy water production - will continue to remain under the exclusive control of the central government.

"By introducing the Bill, the government has signalled its intent to modernise nuclear governance in line with India's energy transition, technological progress and international obligations," the Department of Atomic Energy said. "The proposed legislation seeks to balance expansion of nuclear energy with safety, accountability and public interest, placing nuclear power within the broader national effort towards energy security and a lower-carbon future."

According to World Nuclear Association information, India currently has 24 operable nuclear reactors totalling 7,943 MW of capacity, with six reactors - 4,768 MW - under construction. (The Indian government often classes two units at Gorakhpur where site works have begun as being under construction, although the first concrete for the reactor buildings has not yet been poured.) A further 10 units - some 7 GW of capacity - are in pre-project stages. But India's Atomic Energy Act of 1962 prohibits private control of nuclear power generation: only government-owned enterprises Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and BHAVINI are legally allowed to own and operate nuclear power plants in India, and private sector companies and foreign investors are not allowed to invest directly in nuclear power.