PIB TrackerOpening the atom: NITI Aayog begins implementing the SHANTI Act that lets private firms build nuclear plants
NITI Aayog held a stakeholder consultation on implementing the SHANTI Act, 2025 — the law that opens nuclear power to private participation for the first time since Independence — covering draft rules, investment and insurance frameworks, and building a domestic nuclear-manufacturing ecosystem.
What happened
- NITI Aayog held a stakeholder consultation on implementing the SHANTI Act, 2025, chaired by Member Prof. Abhay Karandikar, with DAE, AERB, CEA and NTPC.
- The SHANTI Act (enacted Dec 2025) lets private entities build, own and operate nuclear power plants for the first time since Independence.
- It replaces the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010; enrichment, heavy water and spent-fuel management stay with the Centre.
- It gives statutory backing to the AERB; the consultation covered draft rules, FDI-policy provisions, insurance and manufacturing.
- It is part of the Nuclear Energy Mission's push toward 100 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047.
For Prelims
- SHANTI Act, 2025: Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India — opens nuclear power to private participation; replaces the Atomic Energy Act 1962 and the CLND Act 2010.
- What stays with the Centre: Uranium enrichment, heavy-water production and spent-fuel management remain sovereign, strategic functions of the Central Government.
- AERB: The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board — now given statutory backing and made accountable to Parliament for safety oversight.
- Nuclear Energy Mission: Announced in the Union Budget 2025; targets 22 GW by 2032 and 100 GW by 2047, including Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).
- FDI caveat: Indian law still prohibits FDI in atomic energy — the consultation discussed how foreign capital could be attracted, but FDI is not yet allowed.
- Nuclear liability: The SHANTI Act replaces the CLND Act 2010, reworking liability (a key sticking point that had deterred investment).
For UPSC: Anchor this in energy security and the clean-energy transition — the biggest nuclear reform since Independence, opening the sector to private (Indian) capital and reworking liability to unlock investment toward 100 GW by 2047. Note the strategic functions retained by the state, AERB's stronger regulatory status, and the still-open FDI and safety/liability debates.
What it is NOT: This is an implementation consultation on an enacted law, not the law's passage or a new plant. The SHANTI Act enables <b>private (domestic)</b> participation; <b>FDI in atomic energy remains prohibited</b>, and strategic functions (enrichment, heavy water, spent fuel) stay with the Centre — it is not full privatisation.
For Mains
Syllabus: GS3.12 · GS3.9 · Linkage L2
Anchor
Reforming the nuclear sector for energy security and decarbonisation — opening reactor building to private capital while keeping strategic functions sovereign.
Substantiation (data)
NITI Aayog consultation on implementing the SHANTI Act 2025: private build-own-operate of nuclear plants; replaces the Atomic Energy Act 1962 and CLND Act 2010; AERB statutory backing; toward 100 GW by 2047.
Exemplification
Private participation, reworked liability, insurance frameworks and a domestic manufacturing/SMR ecosystem as the levers to scale nuclear capacity.
Problematisation
Liability and safety concerns, the continuing FDI prohibition, financing and insurance for long-gestation projects, and public acceptance temper the ambition.
Way-forward
Finalise clear rules and liability/insurance frameworks, build domestic manufacturing and skilled workforce, resolve the FDI question, and ensure robust independent safety regulation.
Position
Government stance: private-led expansion of clean, reliable nuclear power toward 100 GW by 2047, with the state retaining strategic control.
Deploys into: Indigenisation and developing new technology — nuclear reactors/SMRs (GS3.12) · infrastructure and energy security (GS3.9) · the SHANTI Act 2025, the Atomic Energy Act/CLND Act it replaces, AERB, the Nuclear Energy Mission and the clean-energy transition.
NITI Aayog · 2026-07-11 · PRID 2283545 · PIB source ↗