By Swastika Sahu
President Droupadi Murmu has approved the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, which received approval from both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha in the Winter Session of Parliament.
Notably, the Bill opens up the civil nuclear industry to private companies and incorporates all legislation pertaining to it. Under a government license, the law allows private businesses and joint ventures to construct, own, run, and decommission nuclear power stations.
According to the law, the central government or its owned organizations will continue to have exclusive authority over operations like uranium and thorium mining, enrichment and isotopic separation, reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, handling of high-level radioactive waste, and heavy water production.
A government announcement that the President signed the bill into law on Saturday verified this.
Considered by many to be the largest nuclear sector reform since Independence, the bill seeks to repeal the Atomic Energy Act of 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act of 2010.
These rules, which have long governed the sector, are often cited as barriers to broad private participation.
The bill seeks to expand the use of nuclear science and technology in fields like healthcare, agriculture, water, food processing, industry, research, and environmental protection while bolstering India’s nuclear power program. Additionally, it aims to update the regulatory framework in light of new technologies, such as nuclear and radiation applications made possible by artificial intelligence.
For the production, use, and administration of nuclear energy and radioactive materials, the proposed legislation offers a strong licensing and safety authorization system. It establishes comprehensive guidelines for the construction, management, and shutdown of nuclear power plants, research reactors, fuel manufacturing facilities, and radiation facilities.
Dr. Jitendra Singh stated during the Lok Sabha discussion that the act would change the course of India’s development. “The proposed legislation also seeks to support the substantial expansion of nuclear energy and its applications in other industries.
This is in line with the nation’s goal of building 100GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047,” he stated.
The permission comes just hours after Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025 was signed into law by President Droupadi Murmu, officially paving the door for a significant reform of India’s premier rural employment initiative.
This means that a new legislative frame in line with the government’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision would replace the two- decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act( MGNREGA).