U.S. nuclear industry to make comprehensive submissions to India on SHANTI rules
The US nuclear industry is preparing a comprehensive submission on India's draft rules under the SHANTI Act, covering licensing, liability, insurance, and private-sector participation
The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) released draft rules and regulations under the SHANTI Act and invited public comments, with submissions due by September 4
The SHANTI Act opens India's civil nuclear sector to private companies and joint ventures for the first time since Independence, permitting them to build, own, and operate nuclear plants, undertake decommissioning, conduct nuclear research and development, and manufacture nuclear fuel
The Act also allows private entities to use ionising radiation for non-power applications in medicine and agriculture
The draft rules lay down licensing, insurance, and approval procedures while retaining government control over sensitive activities such as fissile material and reactor design
SHANTI Act, 2025 — Ending the State Monopoly on Nuclear Power
SHANTI (Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India) is the legislation that replaces the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and restructures the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 framework, ending the exclusive role of the Department of Atomic Energy and its public-sector arm, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), in owning and operating nuclear power plants.
Key Details
- The SHANTI Bill received Presidential assent on December 20, 2025, coming into force as an Act of Parliament
- It sets a target of 100 GW of installed nuclear capacity by 2047, with interim milestones of roughly 22 GW by 2032, 47 GW by 2037, and 67 GW by 2042
- India's current installed nuclear capacity is approximately 8,180 MW (about 8.2 GW), contributing roughly 3% of the country's total electricity generation
- The Act permits private companies and joint ventures to build, own, and operate nuclear plants, undertake decommissioning, and engage in nuclear R&D — activities previously reserved exclusively for government entities
The draft rules being commented on by the US nuclear industry operationalise these SHANTI Act provisions — translating the broad legislative opening into specific licensing, insurance, and liability procedures that determine whether foreign reactor vendors actually enter the Indian market.
Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 — Supplier Liability and the Insurance Pool
The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA), 2010 created India's nuclear liability regime and has long been the central obstacle to foreign nuclear investment because of its unusual supplier-liability provision, which the SHANTI framework now revisits.
Key Details
- Section 17(b) of the CLNDA allows the plant operator, after paying compensation, a right of recourse against equipment/material suppliers if the nuclear incident results from a supplier's act, including defective equipment or sub-standard services
- This provision goes beyond the operator-liability-only model of the international Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC), which restricts supplier recourse to cases covered by an explicit written contract
- US suppliers, including Westinghouse and GE-Hitachi, cited this open-ended supplier liability as a key reason for not entering the Indian market despite the 2008 India-US civil nuclear opening
- To address the resulting risk-pricing problem, the Department of Atomic Energy set up the India Nuclear Insurance Pool in June 2015 — a ₹1,500 crore pool backed by GIC Re and other domestic insurers
The SHANTI Act's draft rules on insurance and liability are the direct successor to this unresolved CLNDA Section 17(b) dispute; US industry's "comprehensive submission" is expected to focus heavily on how the new rules calibrate supplier liability exposure.
India-US Civil Nuclear Cooperation — the 2008 123 Agreement and NSG Waiver
The current US industry engagement with SHANTI traces back to the foundational India-US civil nuclear cooperation framework, which opened the door to nuclear trade with India despite it being a non-signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Key Details
- The India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement (commonly the "123 Agreement," under Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act) was concluded in 2008, enabling civil nuclear trade between the two countries
- The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) granted India a specific waiver in 2008, exempting it from NSG guidelines that would otherwise bar nuclear trade with a non-NPT state
- Despite these agreements, US reactor vendors made little commercial headway in India for over a decade due to the CLNDA's supplier liability provisions
- SHANTI's private-sector opening and revised liability/insurance rules are seen as the mechanism to finally operationalise the commercial promise of the 2008 opening
The US nuclear industry's current detailed engagement with India's rule-making process reflects renewed confidence that SHANTI may resolve the liability barrier that stalled US reactor deals for over 15 years after the 2008 agreements.
- SHANTI Act: Presidential assent December 20, 2025; replaces the Atomic Energy Act, 1962
- Public comment deadline on draft SHANTI rules: September 4
- Nuclear capacity targets: 22 GW (2032) → 47 GW (2037) → 67 GW (2042) → 100 GW (2047)
- Current installed nuclear capacity: ~8,180 MW (~3% of total electricity generation)
- CLNDA Section 17(b): supplier right-of-recourse provision, broader than the international CSC norm
- India Nuclear Insurance Pool: established June 2015; ₹1,500 crore; backed by GIC Re and domestic insurers
- India-US 123 Agreement: concluded 2008
- NSG waiver for India: granted 2008