Parliament on Thursday passed a bill allowing private companies and individuals to set up nuclear reactors for power production, ignoring objections from the Opposition over dilution of the liability provision for equipment suppliers.
The Rajya Sabha passed the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025. Science and technology minister Jeetendra Singh ruled out safety concerns expressed by several members and said the cap on liability could be relaxed.
He said India was generating 8.9 gigawatt (GW) of power while the government wants to increase it to 100GW by 2047. He said India had doubled its nuclear capacity since 2014.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said India’s nuclear programme did not start after 2014. The first Atomic Energy Act was passed by the Constituent Assembly in April 1948. The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was established
in 1948, while the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)
was set up in 1954. The first 160MW reactor was commissioned in 1969 in Tarapur,
Maharashtra.
Ramesh said that in 2008, the BJP had officially opposed the India-US nuclear deal, saying there was not much future in nuclear energy.
Arun Jaitley, as the leader of the Opposition in the
Rajya Sabha in 2010, had helped the UPA government in drafting the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, the law that states that whoever is responsible for any accident or incident would have to pay compensation.
The operator had the right of recourse against the supplier of equipment and other individuals responsible for the damage if their equipment was responsible for the accident. The new bill removes the clause that provides for the operator’s right of recourse.
“What you have brought in this bill is just against
what Jaitley had said. Jaitley had endorsed the 2010 law,
and you are taking a U-turn now. Are private companies putting pressure?” Ramesh asked.
Ramesh stated that the bill aims to promote private involvement in the nuclear power sector, which contradicts the long-standing philosophy of advancing India’s nuclear programme through the public sector.
He said the private sector can play a secondary role, but it cannot be the main player. He said three private companies would mainly benefit from the proposed law.
Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose said the bill empowers the Centre to authorise any company to set up a nuclear installation. Until now, nuclear power projects had been restricted to government entities.
“It is a huge policy shift. Is cronyism the way forward? India’s nuclear programme has been kept under government control because one mistake can poison the land and water for generations to come,” Ghose said.