India has published draft rules under the SHANTI Act, proposing a unified licence for nuclear plants, stricter financial safeguards, and a path for imported reactor designs, marking a significant shift in its nuclear sector governance.
India has moved to put flesh on the bones of its new nuclear law, publishing draft rules that would create a single composite licence for the full life of a plant, tighten financial safeguards for operators and set out conditions for foreign reactor technology.
The draft framework follows the SHANTI Act, which several law firms and policy groups say was enacted in December 2025 to replace the Atomic Energy Act of 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act of 2010. The legislation was designed to open the sector to private and foreign participation while preserving state control over strategic functions. Under the draft rules, a developer would no longer need separate permissions for construction, ownership, operation and decommissioning, a change intended to speed up projects without weakening oversight.
Financial responsibility is at the centre of the new regime. According to the draft, nuclear operators would have to maintain insurance, financial security or both to meet claims for nuclear damage, and that cover would remain in place until all spent fuel has been removed from storage. The rules also call for a review of civil liability limits every five years by a panel of experts appointed by the Centre, adding a periodic check on how much risk operators are expected to bear.
The draft also tries to make room for imported reactor designs, but only on strict terms. Any foreign reactor would need approval from the regulator in its home country, and the country of origin would have to have a mature domestic reactor design and supply chain. The reactor would also need to be already operating either at home or in another foreign market before it could be considered for use in India, according to the draft.
Officials are also proposing in-principle approval even before a site or technology is finalised, a move that could allow companies to start negotiating with vendors and acquiring land and infrastructure earlier in the process. The rules also recognise captive nuclear power for energy-intensive users such as aluminium smelters, cement makers, chip manufacturers and artificial intelligence data centres, signalling that the government sees atomic energy as part of a broader industrial strategy.
The draft replaces older rules on radioactive waste, radiation protection and nuclear liability funds, consolidating them into a single framework. Public feedback has been invited until 4 September 2026. The consultation comes as India aims to lift nuclear capacity sharply by 2047, making the new rules a key test of whether the country can combine faster development with tighter accountability.
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