SHANTI Bill 2025

Introduction: Powering India's Future

Imagine playing a popular strategy game, but the rules are from decades ago, limiting you to a single player and basic power-ups. To win in today's complex world, the game needs an update that allows for team play and new strategies. India is doing something similar for its nuclear energy program.

The new rulebook is called the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025. This document is your guide to understanding what this new bill is, why it's so important, and how it will help power India's cleaner and brighter future. Let's start with the basics of what we're trying to power.

1. First, What is Nuclear Energy?

Nuclear energy is the power we get from controlled atomic reactions. The process, known as fission, involves splitting atoms, which releases an enormous amount of heat. This heat is used to create steam that turns turbines and generates electricity. A huge advantage of this process is that it produces electricity without creating greenhouse gases, which are a major cause of climate change. Because of this, nuclear energy is valued across the globe as a clean and dependable source of power that can work alongside renewables like solar and wind.

Now that we know what nuclear energy is, let's look at how India has managed it over the years.

2. India's Nuclear Journey: The Old Rulebook

Why Change the Rules?

Just like an old game needs an update, India's old nuclear laws needed a refresh to meet today's challenges. The country's needs have grown significantly, and the old framework wasn't built for the speed and scale required for the future. Here are the key reasons for the change:

• Growing Energy Needs: India requires a massive amount of reliable, round-the-clock electricity to power everything from homes to high-tech data centers and advanced industries.
• Ambitious Clean Energy Goals: The country has set a major target of achieving 100 GW of nuclear energy by 2047 and completely decarbonizing its economy by 2070. Reaching these goals is impossible with outdated rules.
• Outdated Laws: The previous laws, written in 1962 and 2010, were becoming a roadblock. They needed to be replaced with a single, modern law that could encourage faster growth, more investment, and greater innovation.

A Quick History of India's Nuclear Laws

To understand where India is going, it helps to see where it has been. Here is a simple timeline of the old rulebook.

These laws were important steps, but to achieve its future goals, India needed a completely new approach. That new approach is the SHANTI Bill.

3. The Main Event: What the SHANTI Bill Changes

The SHANTI Bill is designed to be a single, comprehensive law that replaces all the old ones. It's built for India's modern nuclear ambitions and introduces some major changes.

3.1 A Bigger Team: Inviting Private Companies

One of the most significant changes is allowing private companies to join the nuclear energy sector. This is like inviting more players to help build a massive project, making it possible to grow faster. However, the government keeps control over the most critical areas.

• What private companies CAN do: They can now participate in operating nuclear plants, generating power, manufacturing equipment, and even certain nuclear fuel fabrication activities under strict government oversight.
• What is reserved for the government: The government will maintain exclusive control over all sensitive and strategic activities, including uranium enrichment, reprocessing of spent fuel, management of high-level waste, and the production of heavy water.

3.2 A Stronger Referee: Making Rules Clearer and Safer

A bigger team needs a stronger referee with clearer rules. The SHANTI Bill strengthens the entire regulatory system to ensure safety is the top priority.

• It gives official legal power (statutory power) to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), making it a more independent and authoritative regulator.
• It introduces a new "graded liability framework." Instead of a single limit for accident compensation, the liability amount will now be based on the type and size of the nuclear facility. This makes the system fairer and more specific.
• The bill also creates a modern and structured system for licensing and safety oversight, ensuring every nuclear activity meets the highest standards.

3.3 More Than Just Power: Other Key Features

The SHANTI Bill goes beyond just electricity generation. It creates a complete ecosystem for nuclear technology in India.

• New Uses: It provides clear rules for using nuclear and radiation technology in other important fields like healthcare (e.g., medical imaging), agriculture (e.g., crop improvement), and industry.
• Solving Disagreements: It establishes a "Dispute Redressal Mechanism" to handle disagreements between different parties in the nuclear sector fairly and efficiently.
• Protecting National Security: The bill is designed to open the sector to new players without compromising safety or security. It ensures the government maintains strong control over all critical areas to protect national interests.

With these new rules in place, let's take a look at where India's nuclear power program stands today.

4. India's Nuclear Power Today: A Snapshot

While India's nuclear energy goals are massive, its current program is a strong foundation to build upon.

India currently operates 24 reactors across 7 locations, with a total installed capacity of 8.78 GW. Crucially, with new reactors already under development, this capacity is projected to more than double to 22.38 GW by 2031–32.

Here is a breakdown of India's current nuclear power plants:

Currently, nuclear power contributes 3.1% of India's total electricity (as of 2024–25). While this is a small percentage, the plan is to make it much, much bigger.

5. The Big Goal: Powering India by 2047

The SHANTI Bill is the key that unlocks India's "Nuclear Energy Mission," a bold plan for the future. The mission sets out a clear and ambitious path forward.

• The Target: To achieve 100 GW of nuclear energy capacity by 2047. This is more than ten times the current capacity.
• The Focus: To design, develop, and build a new generation of reactors called Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which are more flexible and can be built faster. This isn't just an idea; India's premier nuclear research facility, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), is already developing several SMR designs to make this vision a reality.
• The Investment: The government has allocated ₹20,000 crore to kickstart this mission and support the development of SMRs.
• The Timeline: The goal is to have at least five Indian-designed SMRs up and running by 2033.

This mission is a giant leap, and the SHANTI Bill provides the legal foundation to make it happen.

6. What to Remember About the SHANTI Bill

This is a lot of information, but here are the four most important things to remember about India's new nuclear law.

1. It's a Modern Rulebook: The SHANTI Bill replaces old laws from 1962 and 2010 with a single, updated framework designed for the future of energy.
2. It Opens the Door for Teamwork: For the first time, it allows private companies to help build and run nuclear power plants, which can speed up growth and bring in new technology.
3. Safety and Security First: The bill strengthens the power of the nuclear safety regulator (AERB) and ensures the government keeps full control over all sensitive activities to protect the nation.
4. It Powers a Clean Future: This new law is a critical tool to help India achieve its ambitious goal of 100 GW of clean, reliable nuclear energy by 2047.

By modernising its rules, India is not just building power plants; it's building the foundation for a sustainable and energy-secure future for generations to come.