NEW DELHI: As the government moves to operationalise the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy (SHANTI) Act, 2025, which opens the strategically critical nuclear power sector to greater private-sector participation, its draft rules seek to establish a clearer framework for operator liability, financial protection and the deployment of foreign reactors while retaining long-term regulatory oversight.
The draft rules, released by the Department of Atomic Energy, require nuclear plant operators to maintain an insurance policy, financial security or a combination of both to cover nuclear damage.
The draft rules also provide for a periodic review of operator liability and prescribe conditions for foreign reactor technology. The Centre will constitute, once in every five years, a group of experts to review the maximum limits of an operator’s civil liability for nuclear damage.
For a nuclear power plant or reactor based on a foreign design, the design must be certified or approved by the regulatory authority in the country of origin. The rules define the “country of origin” as a country that is self-reliant in nuclear reactor design and the supply-chain ecosystem and whose regulatory approvals are trusted globally. Such a plant or reactor must also be operational either in the country of origin or in another foreign country.
The financial security required from operators will have to remain in place until all spent fuel is removed from the relevant storage pool. The provision extends the operator's financial protection obligations beyond the operational phase of the nuclear facility and comes as the government seeks to bring private capital and expertise into nuclear power while retaining safeguards against potential nuclear damage.
The draft rules also introduce an “in-principle approval” mechanism that could allow prospective developers to move ahead with key preparations before the project site or reactor technology has been finalised. The licensing authority may grant such approval after admitting an application where the site or technology has not been selected.
“Upon receipt of a valid ‘in-principle approval’, the applicant may proceed with negotiation with reactor technology vendors and for acquiring the land and other necessary infrastructure,” the draft rules said.
The provision could give prospective private developers greater flexibility to begin negotiations with reactor technology suppliers and acquire land and other infrastructure at an earlier stage, potentially reducing the time involved in taking nuclear projects from application to development.
The government has also proposed a single composite licence covering the entire lifecycle of a nuclear power plant or reactor, from construction and ownership to operation and decommissioning.
“No licence shall be applied for, granted, divided, or severed... in respect of any of those activities separately,” the draft rules said.