President Droupadi Murmu has granted assent to the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, clearing the way for a new legal framework for India’s civil nuclear sector.
A government notification said that the President granted assent to the SHANTI bill on Saturday. The Bill was passed by Parliament during the Winter Session.
The SHANTI Bill subsumes all existing laws dealing with the civil nuclear sector. With this, the government has sought to replace a fragmented legal structure with a single statute governing civilian nuclear activities in the country.
In doing so, the Bill repeals the Atomic Energy Act of 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.
The government has maintained that these two laws had proved to be an impediment in the growth of the civil nuclear sector in India, particularly in attracting wider participation and investment.
One of the central changes introduced by the SHANTI Bill is the opening up of the civil nuclear sector to private players.
The law enables private companies and joint ventures to build, own, operate and decommission nuclear power plants under a license from the government.
Until now, nuclear power generation in India has largely remained the domain of state-owned entities.
The new framework allows private participation while retaining licensing and regulatory control with the Centre.
While allowing private companies to enter nuclear power generation, the law draws clear boundaries on activities that will remain with the government.
It states that mining of uranium and thorium, enrichment, isotopic separation, reprocessing of spent fuel, high-level radioactive waste management and heavy water production will remain exclusively with the central government or government-owned entities.