New Delhi: The central government is set to table the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025, in Parliament during the last week of the Winter Session. The proposed law seeks to open India’s tightly regulated civil nuclear power sector to private participation for the first time in decades.
The Union Cabinet approved the bill on December 12, marking a major policy shift as India aims to build 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047.
Private sector entry into nuclear power
The SHANTI Bill allows any company or joint venture to build, own, operate, or decommission nuclear power plants and reactors. This move represents one of the most significant changes in India’s nuclear policy since Independence.
By allowing private participation across large parts of the nuclear value chain, the government hopes to attract investment, boost domestic manufacturing, and strengthen India’s role in the global nuclear energy ecosystem.
Liability framework and exclusions
Under the proposed law, the operator of a nuclear installation will be liable for damage arising from a nuclear incident. However, liability will not apply in cases caused by grave natural disasters of an exceptional nature, armed conflict, civil war, insurrection, or terrorism.
The bill also excludes operator liability for damage to the nuclear installation itself, including facilities under construction, other installations located on the same site, associated property, or transport systems carrying nuclear material at the time of the incident.
The maximum liability for each nuclear incident has been capped at the rupee equivalent of 300 million Special Drawing Rights, unless the central government specifies a higher amount through notification.
Clear limits on private participation
While the bill opens the sector, it draws firm boundaries on sensitive activities. Enrichment and isotopic separation of prescribed or radioactive substances, management and reprocessing of spent fuel, handling of high-level radioactive waste, and production and upgrading of heavy water will remain exclusively under government control.
At the same time, private companies will be allowed to fabricate nuclear fuel, including conversion, refining, and enrichment of uranium-235 up to a limit to be notified by the government. They may also take part in producing, processing, transporting, storing, or disposing of other prescribed substances, including nuclear fuel and spent fuel.
Imports, safeguards, and government oversight
The bill permits the import, export, acquisition, and possession of nuclear fuel and prescribed substances, as well as the transfer of related technology and software. However, all source and fissile material, whether produced domestically or imported, will remain under the surveillance and accounting control of the central government.
Spent fuel must be handed over to the government for management or sent back to the country of origin. Heavy water used in nuclear facilities will also remain under government supervision.
Link to the Budget announcement and future plans
The Cabinet approval follows the announcement made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the 2025–26 Union Budget, where she outlined plans to open the nuclear power sector to private players. She also announced a Nuclear Energy Mission with an outlay of Rs 20,000 crore, focused on research and development of small modular reactors.
The mission targets the operationalisation of five indigenously developed small modular reactors by 2033.
The SHANTI bill is expected to reshape India’s civil nuclear framework. The government believes the law will help harness nuclear energy more effectively through public and private collaboration, while maintaining strict oversight of safety and strategic interests.
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