The National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees & Engineers (NCCOEEE), a platform of Central Trade Unions and the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), on Thursday called for countrywide demonstrations on December 23 in opposition to the recently passed Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025.
“The Bill dismantles India’s carefully built nuclear safety and accountability framework and opens the most hazardous energy sector to large-scale private and foreign participation,” the trade unions and SKM said in statement.
The Lok Sabha passed the SHANTI Bill on December 17 amid an opposition walkout. The bill aims to modernise India’s nuclear energy framework by allowing regulated private sector participation in nuclear power generation and related activities, ending the long-standing state monopoly under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962. The government argues that it will help achieve the ambitious target of 100 GW nuclear capacity by 2047, supporting clean energy goals and reliable baseload power.
Ending the State Monopoly
Currently, nuclear projects are exclusively managed by government entities, primarily the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). The existing Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, includes provisions for no-fault liability and operator recourse against suppliers in case of accidents.
Liability Debate
“By repealing the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, the Bill removes the operator’s statutory right of recourse against reactor suppliers, shielding private manufacturers from liability for defective design or equipment. Consequently, the financial burden of nuclear accidents is shifted from profit-making corporations to victims and the State,” the statement read.
The trade unions and SKM, along with its allies, demands the bill’s withdrawal, restoration of strict liability rules (including supplier recourse), establishment of an independent nuclear regulator, enhanced environmental and labour safeguards, and greater parliamentary oversight on foreign participation and strategic nuclear matters.