President Droupadi Murmu approved the SHANTI Bill in 2025, marking a major change in India’s civil nuclear-energy framework. The core significance is that private companies and joint ventures may build, own, operate and decommission nuclear power plants under a government licence. Earlier, India’s nuclear sector was controlled mainly through a strongly state-led framework, so this change matters for energy policy, industrial reform and science-and-technology governance.
The SHANTI Act, 2025 replaced the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 with a consolidated legal framework. It is linked to India’s long-term objective of expanding nuclear power capacity to 100 GW by 2047. The existing policy note also says amendment of the FDI policy for atomic energy was under consideration; for exam purposes, this should not be read as a settled 49% permission unless a notified policy separately confirms it.
The reform does not mean deregulation of nuclear safety. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board received statutory recognition, and activities involving radiation exposure continue to require safety authorisation. Sensitive nuclear activities also remain a key area of government control. For RAS and UPSC preparation, this issue is relevant for prelims through laws, institutions, targets and energy policy. In mains, it supports answers on clean energy, energy security, private investment, public-private partnership and regulation of strategic sectors. In static GK, it should be linked with nuclear-energy governance, liability rules and India’s long-term energy policy.