New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, completing the legislative process for a major overhaul of India’s civil nuclear framework.
The approval was notified by the government on 20 December.
Passed by Parliament during the Winter Session, the new law consolidates existing legislation governing the nuclear sector and allows greater private sector participation.
It replaces the Atomic Energy Act of 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, both of which were seen as limiting investment and expansion.
Under the SHANTI Act, private firms and joint ventures can set up, own, operate and decommission nuclear power plants with government licences.
However, strategic activities such as uranium and thorium mining, fuel enrichment, spent fuel reprocessing and high-level waste management will remain under government control.
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