SHANTI Bill 2025: Atomic Energy Act 1962 to Be Repealed; Private Nuclear Power Operators Allowed

The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025, was a landmark legislative development during India's Winter Session of Parliament. The bill seeks to repeal the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 — a 63-year-old law that has governed all aspects of India's civilian and defence nuclear programme — and replace it with a modern framework that allows private sector participation in nuclear power generation, for the first time in India's history.

The 1962 Atomic Energy Act had given the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and its public sector undertaking, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), a near-total monopoly over nuclear power. All nuclear facilities, materials, and operations were restricted to government entities, citing national security and non-proliferation concerns. The SHANTI Bill proposes to open this sector to private operators, subject to strict safeguards, regulatory oversight, and joint venture requirements with NPCIL.

A critical reform in the bill is the granting of statutory independence to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). Currently, the AERB functions under the DAE — a structural conflict of interest as the DAE is both the promoter and regulator of nuclear power. The SHANTI Bill separates these roles, aligning India with international best practices under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safety standards.

Foreign nuclear operators — including companies from the USA (Westinghouse, GE-Hitachi), France (EDF/Framatome), Russia (Rosatom), and South Korea (KEPCO) — may now participate through joint ventures with NPCIL, subject to bilateral nuclear cooperation agreements (e.g., India-US 123 Agreement, India-Russia civil nuclear pact).

India's nuclear energy target is to achieve 100 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047 (as part of the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision), up from approximately 7.5 GW currently. The SHANTI Bill is seen as a critical enabler of this ambition, addressing India's energy security while supporting its net-zero by 2070 commitment.