India’s nuclear sector is undergoing its most significant reform in six decades as the government finalizes rules under the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act, 2025. Although the Act received Presidential assent in December 2025, licensing for private companies, joint ventures, and research institutions will begin after the new regulatory framework is formally notified.
The SHANTI Act replaces the Atomic Energy Act of 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act of 2010, creating a unified legal structure aimed at accelerating India’s clean‑energy transition. It supports the national goal of expanding nuclear capacity from 8.78 GW today to 100 GW by 2047, while granting statutory recognition to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
The law enables private participation across reactor construction, equipment manufacturing, fuel fabrication, and atomic mineral exploration, while keeping sensitive fuel‑cycle activities under government control. It also modernizes India’s nuclear liability regime by clearly defining responsibilities, introducing insurance‑backed liability caps, and establishing a Nuclear Liability Fund financed through electricity tariffs.
India is already builds 700 MW (Indian design) and 1000 MW (Russian VVER) reactors, with capacity expected to exceed 22 GW by 2032. The Union Minister Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha, (the upper house of Indian Legislature) the SHANTI Act is central to India’s Nuclear Energy Mission and will unlock “new opportunities” for collaboration, including advanced and small modular reactors, once the rules are finalized.”The rules and regulation under SHANTI Act are currently under the drafting stage and will be notified after following the due parliamentary process,” he added.
The Act also reforms nuclear liability norms that have been a barrier for private and foreign investors. Liability responsibilities have been defined clearly and insurance-backed liability caps introduced. The government will provide backstop support beyond a specified threshold — alongside plans to “establish a Nuclear Liability Fund with levy charged from the tariff on the electricity sold to the consumers”.
