Lok Sabha Passes Nuclear Energy Bill to Enable Private Investment

The Lok Sabha cleared the Nuclear Energy Bill on Wednesday and seeks to open the sector for private participation. The government reassured the House that the proposed law retains and strengthens provisions on safety and security while streamlining the liability framework.

India is among the countries looking at a larger role for nuclear power in their energy mix and has set a target of 100 GW of capacity, requiring $214 billion in investment by 2047.

As per reports, experts suggest that the new law has addressed key concerns of private players, which should attract private capital into the sector. According to the government, the Nuclear Bill seeks to balance the expansion of nuclear energy with safety, accountability and public interest, placing nuclear power within the broader national effort towards energy transition and a lower-carbon future.

Opposition Flags Concerns

The Lok Sabha passed the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (Shanti) Bill by voice vote; however, the opposition walked out. The Shanti Bill will now be taken up in the Rajya Sabha. The Congress and other opposition parties raised concerns over the rationale behind opening up the sector. The opposition also accused the government of breaking the 2010 national consensus on nuclear suppliers’ liability. They said diluted or removed liability clauses in the Bill would have dangerous consequences on the safety front.

“The Bill comes soon after a private conglomerate announced plans to enter the nuclear sector. Is it a coincidence that it followed the Adani Group’s announcement? I am just asking,” Congress MP Manish Tewari said. Meanwhile, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor termed the Bill a dangerous leap into privatised nuclear expansion.

“The entire idea was to bring an enabling law into an enabling ecosystem without compromising the security concerns of the nation,” Minister of State for Atomic Energy Jitendra Singh said. Reiterating Homi Bhabha’s assertion that India’s nuclear programme was dedicated to peaceful purposes, Singh said the “Bill was made possible by Prime Minister Modi’s ability to take bold, out-of-the-box decisions and break taboos of the past.”