India has taken a major step toward overhauling its nuclear energy framework with the introduction of a new bill in Parliament aimed at modernising governance of the sector. Minister of State Jitendra Singh tabled the proposed legislation in the Lok Sabha on December 15, outlining a comprehensive legal structure designed to support the country’s long term clean energy ambitions.
The legislation, formally titled the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill, 2025or SHANTI Bill, was approved by the Union Cabinet on December 12. According to the Department of Atomic Energythe bill seeks to repeal the Atomic Energy Act of 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act of 2010, replacing them with a single consolidated law better aligned with India’s current and future energy needs.
In its statement explaining the bill’s objectives, the Department of Atomic Energy said decades of sustained research and development have enabled India to become largely self reliant across the nuclear fuel cycle and to operate its nuclear programme responsibly. With this experience, the government believes there is scope to significantly expand nuclear capacity to strengthen clean energy security and deliver reliable round the clock power for emerging demands such as data centres and advanced digital infrastructure.
The bill aims to enable India to meet its decarbonisation targets and its goal of achieving 100 gigawatts of nuclear power capacity by 2047. To do so, the proposed framework encourages greater participation from both the public and private sectors, while also positioning India as an active contributor to the global nuclear energy ecosystem. At the same time, the government has emphasized that national strategic interests and safety considerations will remain central to the sector’s expansion.
Beyond power generation, the SHANTI Bill proposes a unified licensing and regulatory framework for nuclear and radiation technologies used in healthcare, agriculture, industry, and research. It also introduces a revised civil liability regime for nuclear damage, grants statutory status to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, and strengthens provisions related to safety, security, safeguards, quality assurance, and emergency preparedness.
A key shift in the proposed law is the opening of certain nuclear activities to private participation. Private companies, joint ventures, and other entities would be allowed to apply for licences to establish and operate nuclear facilities and to transport nuclear fuel. However, sensitive activities such as uranium enrichment, used fuel management, and heavy water production would remain under the exclusive control of the central government.
At present, India’s nuclear power sector is tightly restricted by the Atomic Energy Act of 1962, which allows only state owned companies to own and operate nuclear plants. As a result, entities such as Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and BHAVINI are the only operators permitted, with no direct investment allowed from private or foreign firms. According to the World Nuclear AssociationIndia currently operates 24 nuclear reactors with a combined capacity of 7,943 megawatts, while six more reactors totaling 4,768 megawatts are under construction.
The Department of Atomic Energy said the introduction of the SHANTI Bill signals the government’s intent to modernise nuclear governance in line with India’s energy transition, technological advancement, and international obligations. Officials stressed that the legislation seeks to balance expansion of nuclear power with safety, accountability, and public interest, placing nuclear energy within India’s broader push toward long term energy security and a lower carbon future.
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