India’s nuclear sector set for major overhaul with 2025 reform bill

The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill, 2025 (SHANTI) seeks to “promote and regulate the safe, secure, and responsible use of nuclear energy and nuclear technologies in India, with the overarching objective of leveraging nuclear science for public welfare and national development.”Scheduled to be introduced in the Winter Session of Parliament, the Bill, according to the Times of India, is being viewed as a major policy shift in India’s atomic energy sector. It proposes to open the sector to private participation, allowing up to 49% equity, and to permit the entry of foreign companies—thereby ending the long-standing government monopoly over nuclear power generation.The proposed legislation includes amendments to the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, and corresponding changes to nuclear liability laws. These reforms are intended to attract private and foreign investment and to address long-standing hurdles arising from the 2008 Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement. A key obstacle has been the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA), which allows nuclear operators to seek recourse from suppliers, discouraging US companies such as Westinghouse from investing in Indian projects.The amendments are expected to ease supplier liability concerns, potentially through mechanisms such as insurance pools or government-backed indemnification. This could unlock stalled projects, including the US-backed Kovvada nuclear power project, and make reactor construction in India commercially viable for American firms.Overall, the proposed reforms aim to operationalise the Indo-US nuclear agreement, which has so far yielded limited outcomes beyond nuclear fuel imports due to liability constraints. These changes are also closely linked to broader Indo-US trade and investment negotiations, with nuclear cooperation envisioned as a key pillar for strengthening bilateral economic ties.



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