The SHANTI Act is an Act of the Indian Parliament, formally known as the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Act, 2025. It was created to comprehensively overhaul India's nuclear energy governance, replacing the previous state-monopoly model with a regulated commercial framework.
The Act originated from the need to modernize the sector and attract investment to meet India's ambitious target of 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047. The Bill was introduced in the Winter Session of 2025, passed by the Lok Sabha on 17 December 2025, and received Presidential assent on 20 December 2025. It solved the problem of structural bottlenecks and legal uncertainty created by the previous laws, which were designed for a closed, state-dominated regime.
The SHANTI Act works by establishing a unified legal framework that repeals the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA), 2010. A key mechanism is the liberalization of the sector, where Section 3(1) now allows private Indian companies and joint ventures to apply for licenses to build, own, and operate nuclear power plants and engage in fuel fabrication. Institutionally, the Act grants statutory status to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), making it an independent regulator accountable to Parliament.
The Act significantly changed the liability regime by aligning it closer to international norms. It eliminated the expansive right of recourse against suppliers that was present in Section 17(b) of the CLNDA, 2010, which had previously discouraged foreign investment. The Act sets a graded maximum liability for operators, with the highest cap at ₹30 billion for the largest reactors. While the Act opens up power generation, sensitive activities like uranium enrichment and spent fuel management remain reserved for the Central Government.