India's nuclear energy journey mirrors the patient convergence of monsoon rivulets into mighty rivers across the Deccan plateau.

Over decades, quiet streams of scientific endeavour have merged, forming a powerful flow capable of powering data centres at midnight, sterilising meals in the afternoon, and aiding clinicians in saving young lives by evening.

The introduction of the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill, 2025—known as the SHANTI Bill—now shapes this riverbed, directing clean, dependable energy and transformative applications to every home, industry, and institution.

Prior to 2014, India's nuclear framework rested on two distinct statutes: the Atomic Energy Act of 1962, which oversaw development and control, and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act of 2010, establishing a no-fault compensation system.

These laws suited their eras, when nuclear efforts were largely sovereign pursuits with scant scope for wider participation from manufacturing, finance, insurance, start-ups, and advanced research. SHANTI unifies these elements by repealing both acts, erecting a modern, singular architecture that grants statutory status to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), clarifies roles, and opens prudent pathways for public-private collaboration while safeguarding sensitive government functions.

This evolution underscores the widening of India's nuclear river. In the past decade, self-reliance has spanned the entire nuclear fuel cycle, pursued responsibly. Now, the nation stands poised to scale up towards a 100 gigawatt (GW) nuclear capacity target by 2047, bolstering baseload power for artificial intelligence, quantum computing, indigenous semiconductor production, and expansive data research. 

The Bill enshrines this preparedness through a streamlined licensing and safety authorisation regime, alongside graded liability for operators—from ₹3,000 crore for the largest reactors to ₹100 crore for smaller ones and fuel cycle facilities—fostering innovation in small modular reactors (SMRs) with balanced safeguards.

Compassion scales alongside technology. SHANTI institutes a Nuclear Liability Fund to cover compensation exceeding operator caps and aligns with the international Convention on Supplementary Compensation. For ordinary citizens, transformation manifests tangibly.

In healthcare, nuclear medicine has shifted from potential to reality, with targeted therapies for childhood blood cancers and prostate cancers emerging from centres like TATA Memorial, converting isotopes into healing tools. The Bill liberalises research pathways, enabling private institutes to amplify national capabilities.

Radiation technologies already enhance food preservation, extend shelf lives, and ensure agricultural safety. SHANTI formalises radiation facilities and equipment, providing regulatory clarity for routine applications in hospitals and factories alike.

Key terms gain precision: a “nuclear incident” encompasses events causing nuclear damage or posing imminent grave risk despite preventive measures. “Nuclear damage” broadens to include loss of life, injury (with long-term health effects), property damage, environmental restoration, income losses from environmental impairment, and mitigation costs.

Safety authorisation from the AERB constitutes formal permission, ensuring radiation equipment, radioisotopes, and ionising radiation facilities adhere to rigorous standards in design, siting, operation, and decommissioning. Safety embodies discipline, quantified through routines: operating plants undergo quarterly inspections during construction and biannual checks thereafter, with licences renewed every five years. The International Atomic Energy Agency validates parameters, and AERB's new statutory powers sharpen oversight.

Radiation doses, measured in microsieverts, remain minuscule: the public annual limit stands at 1,000 µSv, while emissions at sites like Koodankulam register around 0.002 of that unit and Tarapur about 0.2—far below thresholds thanks to robust design and operations. Seismic considerations integrate geography into engineering: coastal sites on eastern and western shores lie hundreds to over a thousand kilometres from high-risk zones.

Citizens will experience multifaceted change. Reliable 24x7 low-carbon power, independent of weather, stabilises textile clusters via SMRs, sustaining looms and livelihoods, while district hospitals gain uninterrupted supply for imaging, radiotherapy, and records, easing patient burdens. SHANTI's graded liability lowers entry barriers for smaller investors under stringent accountability, simplifying the path from design to deployment.

Enhanced redress follows incidents. An Atomic Energy Redressal Advisory Council—comprising the Atomic Energy Commission Chairperson, BARC Director, AERB Chairperson, and Chief Economic Adviser—reviews applications and aids conciliation with technical expertise. Claims Commissioners activate within 30 days of notified incidents for swift adjudication, while severe cases trigger a Nuclear Damage Claims Commission with quasi-judicial authority akin to civil courts, prioritising natural justice for efficiency and empathy.

A secure, transparent ecosystem emerges. Restricted information safeguards sensitive data on sites, materials, and designs, without impeding public safety communication. Government retains monopoly on enrichment, spent fuel reprocessing, heavy water production, and isotopic separations; all spent fuel returns to state custody post-cooling, ensuring sovereign long-term stewardship. Research, design, and innovation evade licensing (barring safety and security caveats), empowering startups and universities to pioneer prototypes, sensors, AI monitoring, and advanced materials for safer reactors and precise radiation uses.

Lessons from adjacent sectors inspire. Five years ago, liberalising space opened a $8 billion economy with over 300 startups, poised to quintuple in a decade. SHANTI anticipates parallel growth: paired with ₹20,000 crore for SMR missions and a ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development, and Innovation Fund, nuclear energy integrates into India's broader innovation wave, transcending silos.

Addressing liability concerns, operators bear capped responsibility backed by mandatory insurance or financial security; excess draws from the Nuclear Liability Fund or international pools. Civil courts avoid technical overload via specialised commissions, with appeals to an augmented Appellate Tribunal for Electricity and ultimately the Supreme Court—delivering swift, expert justice without evasion.

Sovereignty strengthens, not dilutes. Government oversees source and fissile materials; uranium and thorium mining above specified grades reserves to state entities; sensitive acquisitions empower the Centre; emergency powers enable full control of facilities and materials.

Ultimately, SHANTI enlivens through service to people: steady streetlights in small towns, longer-lasting irradiated onions fetching better prices for farmers, precise linear accelerators saving lives, and algorithms by young engineers pre-empting anomalies.

This is Viksit Bharat's nuclear vision—powered by clean, reliable energy, fortified by robust regulation, and driven by citizen ingenuity. Like rivers finding the sea without debate, India's nuclear flow, guided by SHANTI, charts a safe, sovereign course generous enough to uplift every citizen.

Agencies