Washington is willing to participate in India’s nuclear energy sector and partner in joint innovation and research and development, the US embassy said in a post on X on Monday.
This follows India’s Parliament passing a legislation allowing private players to participate in the nuclear space, and capping the civil nuclear liability.
Parliament last week passed the atomic energy bill or the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, allowing changes to the country’s liability provisions, which would help the country achieve its target of 100 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047.
US embassy on SHANTI bill
“We welcome India’s new #SHANTIBill, a step towards a stronger energy security partnership and peaceful civil nuclear cooperation. The United States stands ready to undertake joint innovation and R&D in the energy sector,” the US Embassy India said in its post.
The 2008 deal between India and the US allowed India to legally buy nuclear fuel, reactors, and technology from the US and other countries and realise its nuclear ambitions. However, a nuclear liability law introduced in 2010 which held suppliers responsible for damages in case of an accident, made foreign investors cautious about the country’s nuclear projects.
The new legislation has eased the terms for operators, sparing suppliers from nuclear liability. The new law caps liability based on reactor size and allows the government to set up a fund to cover claims exceeding those limits.
What does the legislation include?
The legislation includes core activities such as exploration of atomic minerals, fuel fabrication, equipment manufacturing, and aspects of plant operations. The SHANTI Bill proposes a slew of structural reforms, including an independent nuclear safety authority and a dedicated nuclear tribunal.
The government has drawn up a roadmap to reach a capacity of 100 GW by 2047, of which NPCIL will contribute 54 GW by 2047 by setting up new nuclear power plants based on indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors and Light Water Reactors with foreign cooperation.
The present installed nuclear power capacity is 8.8 GW and the nuclear electricity generated during 2024-25 is 56,681 million units.
In the year 2024-25, the share of nuclear power was about 3.1% in the total electricity generation of the country.
Nuclear energy is expected to play a pivotal role in reducing India’s dependence on fossil fuels. The bill is likely to have an enduring impact on the country’s ability to achieve its 2070 Net Zero ambition, analysts say.
Many private players have shown interest in setting up utility scale nuclear power generation capacities including Tata Power and Adani. State-owned NBFCs like REC have also said that it will expand its portfolio in the nuclear segment lending. The private industry has been waiting for the amendment in the Atomic Energy Act.
Tata Power has also said that it is under discussions with many states, including Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, to identify suitable land parcels for its nuclear power plants.