Examine the role of private sector participation in India's Nuclear Energy Mission. How does this mark a departure from India's traditional nuclear policy?

The Nuclear Energy Mission, announced in Union Budget 2025-26, targets 100 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047 to anchor India's net-zero-by-2070 pathway [2]. The SHANTI Act, 2025 — assented to in December 2025 — makes private capital, rather than the state alone, the decisive instrument for reaching it [1].

Role of the private sector in the Mission

• Bridging the capacity gap: present capacity is about 8.78 GW, projected to reach ~22 GW by 2031-32 and ~54 GW by 2047 through NPCIL and PSUs; the balance of roughly 46 GW must come from private firms, joint ventures and State PSUs [2].
• Financing: nuclear projects are capital-intensive with long gestation; private equity diversifies funding beyond sovereign budgetary support.
• Operational entry: private companies and JVs may now build, own, operate and decommission plants under government licence, and enter fuel fabrication and equipment manufacturing [1].
• Small Modular Reactors: a ₹20,000 crore outlay supports design, development and deployment of SMRs, with five indigenous designs targeted by 2033 — a modular scale suited to private and captive industrial demand [3].
• Liability clarity: the new law clarifies operator and supplier liability, addressing the investment reluctance that constrained earlier cooperation [1].

Departure from traditional policy

• From monopoly to licensing: the SHANTI Act replaces the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, ending exclusive state control of civil nuclear generation [1].
• From strategic secrecy to commercial regulation: nuclear power is reframed as a licensed, investible utility sector.
• From PHWR-centric state build-out to technology diversification through SMRs and joint ventures [3].
• Continuity retained: licensing, safety regulation, safeguards and fuel-cycle oversight remain governmental — this is liberalisation, not privatisation of NPCIL.

India has thus shifted from state stewardship to state supervision of a competitive nuclear sector. Realising the 100 GW goal will further require a strengthened independent safety regulator, assured fuel supply and public trust built through transparency — aligning nuclear expansion with SDG-7 and India's climate commitments.