India's nuclear power sector: SHANTI Act opens to private players, demands lifetime commitment
India's newly enacted SHANTI Act, 2025, aims to boost nuclear power capacity from 8.7 GW to 100 GW by 2047 by allowing private and foreign participation. Former regulators emphasize 'lifetime commitment' and 'financial security' for waste management, claims, and decommissioning. The Act provides a unified legal framework, separating control from safety regulation. Experts caution private players on the need for design support throughout a plant's operating life, periodic safety reviews, and the challenges of foreign reactors' costs and timelines. Indigenous designs like the 700 MW PHWR are seen as a 'natural choice,' but even older indigenous designs need rework to meet current safety benchmarks.
Key Points
- India's SHANTI Act, 2025, aims to expand nuclear power capacity significantly by allowing private and foreign investment.
- Former regulators stress the need for 'lifetime commitment' and 'financial security' from operators for safety, waste management, and decommissioning.
- The Act provides a unified legal framework, distinguishing control regulation from safety regulation.
- Challenges for private players include ensuring design support for the plant's entire operating life and the high costs and lengthy timelines associated with foreign reactors.
- Indigenous designs, particularly the 700 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), are considered viable, though older designs require safety upgrades.
Exam Facts
- Act: SHANTI Act, 2025 (Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India)
- Target capacity: 100 GW by 2047 (from existing 8.7 GW)
- Indigenous reactor type: 700 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)
- Public sector operator: Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL)
- Former Atomic Energy Regulatory Board Chairman: D.K. Shukla
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