India’s nuclear power journey has long been caught between strategic ambition and institutional hesitation. Despite early technological capability, complex laws, investor uncertainty, and liability fears have prevented nuclear energy from becoming a major pillar of India’s clean energy mix. The passage of the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill marks a decisive attempt to break this impasse and reposition nuclear power as a credible contributor to India’s energy security and decarbonisation goals.
Why India’s Nuclear Expansion Stalled
For decades, India’s nuclear sector was governed by a fragmented legal framework, primarily the Atomic Energy Act of 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act of 2010. While well-intentioned, this structure discouraged private participation and complicated international cooperation. Liability provisions, shaped by the trauma of the Bhopal gas tragedy, placed unpredictable risks on suppliers and operators, making global nuclear commerce with India difficult.
As a result, nuclear power remained marginal in India’s energy mix, despite its potential to provide stable, low-carbon baseload electricity.
What SHANTI Changes in the Legal Architecture
SHANTI replaces the earlier patchwork of laws with a single umbrella legislation. This consolidation is meant to bring clarity, reduce regulatory friction, and align India’s nuclear governance with global norms. The Bill sets an explicit long-term ambition of achieving 100 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047, dovetailing with India’s broader climate commitments and net-zero aspirations.
Importantly, the reform is not a wholesale liberalisation. It is a calibrated reset that seeks to unlock capacity without compromising strategic control.
Who Can Build, and Under What Limits
The Bill allows participation by both public and private domestic players, signalling a departure from the near-monopoly of state-owned entities. However, it draws a clear sovereignty line by excluding foreign-incorporated companies from holding nuclear licences.
The most sensitive segments of the nuclear fuel cycle—such as uranium enrichment, spent fuel management, and reprocessing—remain firmly under central government control. This balance reflects India’s cautious approach: open enough to scale, restrictive enough to safeguard national security.
Strengthening Regulation and Safety Oversight
Institutionally, SHANTI separates licensing and safety oversight more cleanly than before. While the government retains licensing authority, safety regulation is vested in the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board with a stronger statutory foundation.
A more empowered regulator is expected to oversee the entire lifecycle of nuclear facilities, from design and construction to decommissioning. However, the effectiveness of this reform will depend on implementation—especially staffing, technical expertise, inspection capacity, and the regulator’s ability to act independently.
Reworking Nuclear Liability: A Delicate Trade-off
Liability remains the most politically sensitive aspect of nuclear reform. SHANTI shifts India closer to global practice by channeling primary liability to the operator, supported by insurance and state backing. The overall accident liability cap is retained at 300 million SDR.
The operator’s right of recourse is narrowed mainly to contractual terms or cases of intentional wrongdoing. Beyond the operator’s cap, responsibility shifts to the central government through a Nuclear Liability Fund, with additional support envisaged via the Convention on Supplementary Compensation if claims exceed domestic limits.
In a notable policy shift, nuclear damage caused by terrorism is treated as a sovereign risk, with liability resting on the Centre rather than operators. This aims to ensure swift compensation in uninsurable scenarios but also places greater responsibility on the state to enforce rigorous security and preparedness.
Victims, Compensation, and Public Trust
To address concerns of dilution, SHANTI broadens the definition of nuclear damage. It explicitly includes long-term health impacts, environmental restoration, economic loss, and preventive measures. The Bill also establishes clearer timelines and faster disbursement mechanisms for compensation once funds are deposited.
By grading operator liability according to the category of installation, SHANTI introduces risk differentiation. However, this will invite scrutiny unless transparent guardrails and minimum thresholds are enforced through detailed rules and public disclosures.
Innovation, Intellectual Property, and Industrial Spillovers
One of SHANTI’s most forward-looking elements is its treatment of intellectual property. By creating a special inventions regime and amending patent law to allow nuclear-related patents, the Bill recognises that nuclear energy extends beyond reactors.
This change could catalyse Indian participation in high-value segments such as advanced materials, robotics, safety software, and radiation technologies, generating skilled employment and strengthening domestic supply chains.
Strategic and Foreign Policy Implications
By aligning liability and compensation norms with international practice, SHANTI enhances India’s credibility as a nuclear partner. It strengthens India’s ability to translate civil nuclear agreements—particularly with countries like the United States—into operational projects rather than symbolic understandings.
In a global nuclear ecosystem where supply chains and safety standards are deeply interlinked, this integration improves India’s bargaining power and reduces dependence on any single partner.
What to Note for Prelims?
- SHANTI Bill replaces the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.
- Target of 100 GW nuclear capacity by 2047.
- AERB strengthened as the nuclear safety regulator.
- Liability cap retained at 300 million SDR.
What to Note for Mains?
- Balancing energy security, decarbonisation, and nuclear safety.
- Shift from restrictive to calibrated nuclear governance.
- Debate between victim protection and investment predictability.
- Nuclear energy’s role in India’s clean energy transition.
