Nuclear energy cooperation is central to India's clean energy transition, yet raises concerns of safety and liability. Discuss with reference to recent legislative and diplomatic developments.

Q. Nuclear energy cooperation is central to India's clean energy transition, yet raises concerns of safety and liability. Discuss with reference to recent legislative and diplomatic developments. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

Nuclear power supplies firm, low-carbon baseload that variable solar and wind cannot, making it indispensable to India's net-zero pathway. The SHANTI Act, 2025 [2][3] and the operationalisation of the India-Australia civil nuclear agreement [1] have widened this route, but safety and liability questions remain unresolved.

Why nuclear cooperation is central to the transition - Firm clean power: unlike renewables, nuclear runs round-the-clock, stabilising a grid with rising renewable share; the SHANTI framework is tied to India's 100 GW nuclear roadmap [2]. - Fuel security: Australia holds more than a quarter of global uranium reserves; the 2014 agreement, in force since 13 November 2015, is the legal base for supply [1]. - Scale through capital: opening the sector allows private capital and joint ventures to fund reactor build-out beyond NPCIL's balance sheet [3].

Recent legislative and diplomatic developments - SHANTI Act, 2025 (assent 21 December 2025) replaces the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, licensing private and joint-venture entities to build, own and operate reactors [3]. - Government retains exclusive control over the fuel cycle, waste management and security operations [2]. - July 2026: the Administrative Arrangement was finalised during the Prime Minister's Australia visit, operationalising uranium exports for peaceful purposes under IAEA safeguards and enabling private-to-private contracts [1].

Persisting safety and liability concerns - Liability is capped and tiered — ₹100 crore to ₹3,000 crore by capacity — with supplier liability diluted, shifting residual risk to the exchequer and victims [3]. - Private operation demands a genuinely independent regulator; licensing and safety authorisation still sit with the Central Government and the Regulatory Board [2]. - Long-lived radioactive waste, siting and rehabilitation disputes, and post-Fukushima public distrust remain unaddressed by capital alone.

Thus, legislative liberalisation and uranium diplomacy have removed the fuel and finance bottlenecks, leaving trust as the binding constraint. Strengthening regulatory independence, transparent siting consultations and a periodically revised liability ceiling would let nuclear energy credibly anchor India's SDG-7 and net-zero commitments.

(~330 words)

Sources: 1. India-Australia Civil Nuclear Cooperation — PIB Factsheet — 2014 agreement, entry into force 13 November 2015, July 2026 Administrative Arrangement, IAEA safeguards, Australia's uranium reserve share 2. The SHANTI Bill, 2025 — PIB — 100 GW roadmap, government monopoly over fuel cycle/waste/security, regulatory licensing 3. PRS Bill Summary: The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill, 2025 — repeal of 1962 and 2010 Acts, private/joint-venture licensing, ₹100–3,000 crore tiered liability