The Bulletin | Anand Kshirsagar
In December 2025, India's Parliament passed the SHANTI Bill, a significant reform opening the nuclear energy sector to private and foreign investment, departing from strict central government control. This legislation aims to address an "investment crunch," meet India's escalating energy demands, and achieve ambitious climate goals, including 500 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030, 100 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2047, and economy-wide decarbonization by 2070. However, this policy shift raises profound strategic concerns, especially regarding nuclear accident liability. The new law drastically limits operator civil liability to approximately $319 million for the largest plants and weakens supplier accountability, a fraction of historical disaster costs like Fukushima. Critics argue this leaves taxpayers responsible for catastrophic costs and potentially exposes vulnerable communities, reviving fears reminiscent of the Bhopal gas tragedy. Further issues include insufficient regulatory independence, unclear disaster response, new security vulnerabilities, and potential erosion of nuclear self-reliance. The bill also lacks clarity on occupational safety and long-term nuclear waste management, altering the state's social contract.
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