HWBRIEF
The Department of Atomic Energy is taking public comments on rules to operationalise the SHANTI (Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India) Act, a December 2025 statute that ended the state operator's monopoly
India's Department of Atomic Energy has opened public consultation on the implementing rules for the SHANTI Act (Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India), a December 2025 statute that replaced the 1962 Atomic Energy Act and the 2010 Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (World Nuclear News, DAE). Submissions to feedback.shanti@dae.gov.in close at 8:00 PM on 04 September 2026.
The law does not grant free private entry into nuclear power. It allows limited Indian private participation under a single composite licence covering build, own, operate, and decommission, and gives statutory recognition to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (PRS India). On sensitive activities (fuel, heavy water, waste, safety, licensing, and strategic oversight) private firms are capped at 49%, with the government holding 51% (The Hindu).
Foreign-designed reactors still face a gate: designs must be certified in a "self-reliant" country of origin whose regulator is trusted globally, and must already be operational there or in another foreign country.
The Hindu reports liability caps of ₹3,000 crore (~$360M), ₹1,500 crore (~$180M), and ₹100 crore (~$12M) for large, medium, and small modular reactors, pending cross-check against the SHANTI Act text. Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh told the Lok Sabha on 12 August that the Act will "enable a wider participation of both public and private sectors" (PIB).
Watch: how "self-reliant country of origin" is defined in the final rules, and whether private financing models for the fuel cycle and mining actually emerge.