AERB Says Private Nuclear Players Will Get an Enabling Environment but No Dilution of Safety Rules
The Chairperson of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), A.K. Balasubrahmanian, said that the entry of private companies into India's nuclear power sector will bring no compromise on safety.
He said the AERB, as the regulator, will give private players an "enabling environment" (clear and supportive rules and processes), but will not dilute any regulatory or safety requirement.
He added that the sector is being opened at the right time, because India's need for electricity is growing fast.
The remarks were made in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), at a two-day symposium on emerging frontiers in nuclear science and technology organised by the Atomic Energy Retirees' Association.
The statement matters because the SHANTI Act, 2025 has, for the first time, allowed Indian private companies to build and run nuclear power plants, and it has given the AERB a statutory (law-based) status.
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB)
The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board is India's nuclear safety watchdog. It makes sure that nuclear power plants, nuclear fuel facilities and machines that use radiation (like hospital X-ray and cancer-treatment machines) are built and run safely. Its job is to protect workers, the public and the environment from harmful radiation. No nuclear plant can start, run or close down without its permission.
The SHANTI Act has made the AERB the safety gatekeeper for private companies entering nuclear power. Its Chairperson's statement is a direct answer to the main worry about the reform: that a push for investment could weaken safety checks. The AERB is promising easier processes, not easier standards.
SHANTI Act, 2025: Opening India's Nuclear Power Sector
The SHANTI Act (Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Act, 2025) is the law that opened India's nuclear power sector to private companies for the first time. Before it, only government companies like NPCIL could build and run nuclear plants. It also changed the rules on who pays if there is a nuclear accident, and gave the AERB legal status as the regulator.
The AERB Chairperson's assurance comes because SHANTI is now being put into practice. As private companies prepare to apply for licences, the regulator is signalling how it will handle them: supportive processes, but the same strict safety bar.
- AERB Chairperson: A.K. Balasubrahmanian; remarks made at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala (November 2026)
- AERB set up: 15 November 1983, under Section 27 of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962; headquarters in Mumbai
- SHANTI Act, 2025: private Indian companies allowed into nuclear power; AERB made statutory
- AERB under SHANTI: Chairperson, 1 whole-time member, up to 7 part-time members; 3-year term, maximum 6 years
- Nuclear liability under SHANTI: ₹100 crore to ₹3,000 crore operator cap (earlier flat ₹1,500 crore)
- India's nuclear capacity: about 8,780 MW (2025-26); target 100 GW by 2047
- India ratified the Convention on Nuclear Safety: 31 March 2005