What legislative reforms are necessary to enable private sector participation in India's nuclear power sector? Discuss associated challenges.

Q. What legislative reforms are necessary to enable private sector participation in India's nuclear power sector? Discuss associated challenges. (15 marks, 250 words)

India's target of 100 GW nuclear capacity by 2047 cannot rest on public undertakings alone [1]. Yet two statutes — designed for a state monopoly — bar private entry, making legislative overhaul the precondition for opening the sector.

Reforms required - Amend the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, which reserves ownership/operation of plants to government entities, to permit private build-own-operate models under regulatory oversight [2]. - Amend the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, whose supplier-liability clause (Sec. 17) deters domestic and foreign vendors, to cap and channel liability to operators [3]. - The SHANTI Bill, 2025 proposes repealing both Acts and replacing them with a single comprehensive law enabling limited private participation [4]. - Strengthen the AERB with statutory autonomy as an independent regulator to match a multi-operator market [3].

Associated challenges - Safety & security: fissile material, safeguards and non-proliferation obligations complicate private control [3]. - Liability comfort: suppliers still fear open-ended liability; balancing investor confidence with victims' rights is delicate [2]. - Fuel-cycle sensitivities: reprocessing, waste management and spent-fuel handling remain strategically restricted. - Institutional coordination: a multi-agency DAE Task Force (AERB, NPCIL, NITI Aayog, MoLJ, MEA) reflects the complexity of dismantling a legacy monopoly [3]. - Public trust post-Fukushima and land-acquisition resistance.

A calibrated legislative framework — pairing liability certainty with a robust independent regulator — can attract private capital while safeguarding public safety, advancing both energy security and India's Net-Zero 2070 commitment.

(~250 words)

Sources: 1. PIB — Parliament Question: Nuclear Power Programme (2026) — three-stage programme, 100 GW by 2047 rationale 2. PIB — Nuclear Power in Union Budget 2025-26 (DAE) — amendments to enable private participation 3. PIB — Parliament Question: Nuclear Energy Mission — DAE Task Force, CLND Act supplier concerns, multi-agency composition 4. PIB — SHANTI Bill, 2025 tabled by Dr. Jitendra Singh — repeal of both Acts, single comprehensive law permitting private entry