India, France discuss EPR reactor deployment, nuclear supply chain localisation
The Power Secretary briefed a visiting French delegation on progress in finalising India's nuclear regulatory framework, including the Draft SHANTI Rules and Regulations
Discussions covered the deployment of French European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) units in India and the localisation of the nuclear equipment supply chain
The talks build on the long-pending Jaitapur nuclear power project in Maharashtra, envisaged around French EPR technology
The engagement reflects continuing India-France coordination on civil nuclear cooperation as India opens its nuclear sector to new regulatory and participation models
The SHANTI Act, 2025 and Draft SHANTI Rules, 2026 — Reforming India's Nuclear Governance
The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill was passed by Parliament on 18 December 2025, marking the most significant overhaul of India's nuclear governance framework since the Atomic Energy Act, 1962. The 1962 Act had vested exclusive control over nuclear energy generation in the Union government, effectively restricting the sector to the Department of Atomic Energy and its public-sector arm, NPCIL. SHANTI creates a regulatory pathway for private-sector and foreign-technology participation in nuclear power generation, subject to new licensing and localisation conditions.
Key Details
- SHANTI Bill passed by Parliament: 18 December 2025
- Draft SHANTI Rules and Regulations, 2026 released for public comments on 14 August 2026, with the comment window closing 4 September 2026
- Under the draft rules, a foreign reactor design can be used in India only if it is certified by its home-country regulator, already operating commercially, and the exporting country itself has its own reactor design and component supply-chain industry
- The reform is linked to India's target of scaling up nuclear capacity and indigenously commissioning Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), including 220 MW PHWR-based "Bharat Small Reactors," by 2033
The India-France talks on "finalising the regulatory framework" refer directly to this SHANTI rule-making process, since French EPR technology must satisfy the new localisation-linked eligibility criteria before deployment can proceed at scale.
Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 — The Supplier Liability Question
The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA), 2010, enacted on 25 August 2010 and in force from 11 November 2011, created a no-fault, channelled liability regime for nuclear accidents in India. Uniquely among comparable national laws, it allows the plant operator (NPCIL) a statutory "right of recourse" to claim compensation from equipment or service suppliers if a nuclear incident is traced to defective design, material or substandard services.
Key Details
- CLNDA enacted 2010; liability regime is "no-fault" — victims need not prove negligence to claim compensation from the operator
- The right-of-recourse provision against suppliers has long been cited by foreign reactor vendors (including French and American firms) as a barrier to signing final commercial contracts in India
- The Union Budget 2025-26 announced the government's intention to amend both the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the CLNDA, 2010 to address supplier concerns while retaining a liability framework
- India is not a signatory to the international Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage in a manner that fully displaces this domestic recourse provision
Resolving supplier-liability exposure is a precondition for French industry to commit fully to large-scale EPR supply and local manufacturing, making this framework central to the "nuclear supply chain localisation" discussions reported.
The Jaitapur EPR Project — India-France Bilateral Nuclear Cooperation
Jaitapur, in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district, is the site earmarked for six European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) units, each of roughly 1,650 MW capacity, to be built with French industry — a project that became possible only after the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) granted India a country-specific "clean waiver" for civil nuclear trade in 2008, despite India not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Key Details
- NSG India-specific waiver: 2008, enabling civil nuclear trade with India notwithstanding its non-NPT status
- 2010: NPCIL and French industry signed a general framework agreement to build the first two EPR units at Jaitapur
- 2021: French power major EDF made a binding offer to build all six EPR units at Jaitapur, for a combined planned capacity of around 9.6 GW
- The EPR project is distinct from, and runs parallel to, India's indigenous Bharat Small Reactor (BSR) programme based on the domestically developed 220 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) design
Progress on the SHANTI regulatory framework and supplier-liability questions is what allows the long-delayed Jaitapur EPR project, first conceived in 2009, to move from framework agreements toward actual construction and supply-chain localisation.
- SHANTI Bill passed by Parliament: 18 December 2025; Draft SHANTI Rules and Regulations released 14 August 2026 (comments closed 4 September 2026)
- Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act enacted: 2010, in force from 11 November 2011
- NSG India-specific waiver enabling civil nuclear trade: 2008
- Jaitapur EPR project: 6 planned units of about 1,650 MW each (~9.6 GW total capacity), led by French EDF
- India's Bharat Small Reactor programme: indigenous 220 MW PHWR-based SMRs targeted for commissioning by 2033
- Union Budget 2025-26 announced planned amendments to the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the CLNDA, 2010