NEW DELHI: Parliament on Thursday passed the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill with the Rajya Sabha giving its nod to the legislation by a voice vote.The Bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, seeks to open the tightly-controlled civil nuclear sector for private participation.Initiating the discussion in the Upper House, the Minister of State of the Department of Atomic Energy, Jitendra Singh, said that nuclear energy is a reliable 24/7 power supply source.He asserted that no compromise would be made with the safeguard mechanism in place.Replying to a discussion on the Bill, Singh also sought to allay fears of radiation, stating that so far there has been no report of any radiation-related hazards to the public.”It is for the first time after 2014, priority is being given to global concerns, be it climate, energy, energy security or clean energy,” the minister added.Singh told the House that there would be a diversion towards clean energy for a number of reasons, as the entire world is moving towards it, and it is important for us to achieve the goal in toto, so that India becomes less dependent on petroleum resources or fossil fuel sources.However, the Opposition questioned the government for allowing private operators into the nuclear power sector, stating that it could impact the sovereignty of the country.While participating in the discussion on the Bill, the Congress MP Jairam Ramesh took a jibe at the Centre for coining ‘catchy acronyms and colourful titles for legislation’. He further stated that an impression is made that everything in India started in 2014, especially programmes related to atomic energy, space and technology.
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