The US government on Monday welcomed the enactment of the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, saying that it would pave the way for nuclear cooperation between Washington and New Delhi.
Hours after President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the SHANTI Bill on Monday, the US Embassy in India posted, "We welcome India’s new SHANTI Bill, a step towards a stronger energy security partnership and peaceful civil nuclear cooperation."
"The United States stands ready to undertake joint innovation and R&D in the energy sector," the post added.
The SHANTI Bill, passed earlier by both Houses of Parliament and enacted into law on Monday, repealed the Atomic Energy Act of 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, subsuming all laws related to the civil nuclear sector and opening the same up for participation by private players.
Under the legal framework, private participation in the nuclear sector is allowed under strict regulatory oversight by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
The enactment of the new legislation comes months after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Union Budget speech in February, announced plans to open up the nuclear sector for private players.
What changes under the new law?
Until now, nuclear power generation in India had been largely restricted to government entities like the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) under the Atomic Energy Act of 1962.
The new law opens up the space for private players, allowing firms to participate in fuel cycle activities, equipment manufacturing, power generation, and even nuclear power plant operations, subject to oversight.
Critically, the new law also allows up to 49% foreign direct investment (FDI) in certain nuclear sector activities, which is expected to help bring capital into the sector as well as speed up research and development and the adoption of new technologies.
According to the government, the new act will help in India's clean energy transition, in addition to helping New Delhi reach its long-term goal of achieving 100 gigawatt nuclear capacity by 2047.
Currently, India's nuclear energy capacity stands at 8.78 gigawatts, which is expected to rise to over 22 gigawatts by 2031-32 after the completion of indigenous reactors that are being developed with international cooperation.