SHANTI Bill gets President's nod, opening India’s civil nuclear sector to private players
The President accorded her assent to the legislation on Saturday, following its passage by both Houses of Parliament during the recently concluded Winter Session
- Dec 22, 2025,
- Updated Dec 22, 2025 7:49 AM IST
President Droupadi Murmu has formally cleared the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, setting the stage for a fundamental shift in India’s civil nuclear policy by allowing private sector entry.
According to an official government notification, the President accorded her assent to the legislation on Saturday, following its passage by both Houses of Parliament during the recently concluded Winter Session.
With the assent in place, the SHANTI Bill consolidates and replaces the existing legal framework governing nuclear power in India. The law repeals the Atomic Energy Act of 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, statutes that the government has long argued constrained investment and slowed the expansion of nuclear energy capacity.
The new legislation permits private firms and joint ventures to participate directly in nuclear power generation, including the construction, ownership, operation and eventual decommissioning of nuclear power plants, subject to regulatory approvals from the government.
However, the law draws clear red lines around sensitive segments of the nuclear ecosystem. Core activities such as uranium and thorium mining, fuel enrichment, isotopic separation, spent-fuel reprocessing, high-level radioactive waste management and heavy water production will continue to remain exclusively under central government control or be handled by state-owned entities.
By opening electricity generation to private players while retaining sovereign control over the nuclear fuel cycle, the SHANTI Act represents a significant reconfiguration of India’s civil nuclear architecture.
The presidential assent to the SHANTI Bill came just hours after Droupadi Murmu also cleared the Viksit Bharat, Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, another major legislative overhaul passed during the Winter Session.
That move formally replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), in force for over two decades, with a revised statutory framework aligned with the government’s Viksit Bharat 2047 roadmap.
President Droupadi Murmu has formally cleared the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, setting the stage for a fundamental shift in India’s civil nuclear policy by allowing private sector entry.
According to an official government notification, the President accorded her assent to the legislation on Saturday, following its passage by both Houses of Parliament during the recently concluded Winter Session.
With the assent in place, the SHANTI Bill consolidates and replaces the existing legal framework governing nuclear power in India. The law repeals the Atomic Energy Act of 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, statutes that the government has long argued constrained investment and slowed the expansion of nuclear energy capacity.
The new legislation permits private firms and joint ventures to participate directly in nuclear power generation, including the construction, ownership, operation and eventual decommissioning of nuclear power plants, subject to regulatory approvals from the government.
However, the law draws clear red lines around sensitive segments of the nuclear ecosystem. Core activities such as uranium and thorium mining, fuel enrichment, isotopic separation, spent-fuel reprocessing, high-level radioactive waste management and heavy water production will continue to remain exclusively under central government control or be handled by state-owned entities.
By opening electricity generation to private players while retaining sovereign control over the nuclear fuel cycle, the SHANTI Act represents a significant reconfiguration of India’s civil nuclear architecture.
The presidential assent to the SHANTI Bill came just hours after Droupadi Murmu also cleared the Viksit Bharat, Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, another major legislative overhaul passed during the Winter Session.
That move formally replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), in force for over two decades, with a revised statutory framework aligned with the government’s Viksit Bharat 2047 roadmap.