the story So Far:
Despite amendments by the opposition and demand for review by a select committee, Parliament has approved the Sustainable Use and Advancement of Atomic Energy in India (Peace) Bill. To meet India’s energy security needs, the government has promoted the Nuclear Energy Mission with ₹20,000 crore dedicated to small modular reactors and advanced pressurized water reactors. India’s nuclear power sector has been state-controlled and unchanged since 1956. Private and foreign participation is restricted under earlier laws – the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010. Private and foreign companies avoided India due to strict liability laws.
What is peace bill?
The PEACE Bill is a comprehensive legislation that opens up India’s nuclear energy sector, which was previously entirely state-controlled and deeply regulated, to private and foreign participation. Under the bill, private Indian companies can seek licenses to own, build and operate nuclear power plants. It is also open to foreign supplier participation.
The peace bill allows private participation up to 49%, while maintaining 51% government control over sensitive activities such as nuclear fuel production, heavy water construction, radioactive waste management, safeguards, licensing and strategic monitoring.
The bill ends the monopoly of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) in plant operations. It allows private companies and joint ventures to build, own and operate nuclear power plants. The private sector will be involved in fuel manufacturing, equipment manufacturing, plant operations and research and development. This will essentially be a public-private partnership model aimed at attracting private capital under government oversight.
The Bill facilitates advanced nuclear technologies by enabling private participation and regulatory clarity. It supports the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) and indigenous reactor designs, contributing to clean energy transition and long-term energy security.
What is the role of AERB?
The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), formed in 1983 under the Atomic Energy Act, has now been given statutory status and is answerable only to Parliament rather than to the executive.
AERB is responsible for ensuring nuclear safety, radiation protection, emergency preparedness and quality assurance in civil nuclear installations. It issues security measures, licenses and standards; As per Section 23 of the Atomic Energy Act, the Department of Atomic Energy administers the industrial safety provisions of the Factories Act, 1948 for the units and conducts inspections to prevent radiation hazards. It plays an important role in strengthening regulatory oversight under the Peace Bill due to increased participation of the private sector. However, the bill has been criticized for concentrating power in one institution.
What security measures are in place?
The Bill clearly does not allow foreign direct investment in the nuclear energy sector. Private companies will have to take authorization from AERB. Authorization is required to establish plants for the production, possession and disposal of radioactive materials and radiation production equipment, as well as the establishment, operation or evacuation of radioactive facilities.
The government controls the reprocessing and management of spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste; heavy water production and upgrading; Enrichment and isotopic separation of radioactive materials. The law also provides for the establishment of a Nuclear Liability Fund to meet compensation needs in case of nuclear accidents.
What has changed regarding liability?
Compared to the previous arrangement, the Peace Bill ensures that the liability aspect for operators is transparent and predictable. The liability limits have been fixed as follows: ₹3,000 crore for large plants of up to 3,600 MW capacity; ₹1,500 crore for medium plants of 1,500-3,600 MW; and ₹100 crore for small modular reactors of 150 MW capacity. The fine for legal violations is limited to ₹1 crore in cases of serious violations.
With additional support from the proposed Nuclear Liability Fund, the Central Government will bear the liability beyond the operator’s limit. Previously, operators could hold suppliers responsible for defective parts, faulty equipment, design inefficiencies and intentional acts causing harm. The present Bill completely removes supplier accountability.
What is the government’s view?
The Center aims to strengthen India’s energy security by diversifying the power mix, reducing dependence on fossil fuels and fuel imports, and expanding nuclear power capacity.
Energy security is one of the main objectives to boost India’s growth index. This ensures 24×7 baseload power as compared to solar power and wind power, subject to geographical conditions. This will be a boost to the energy sector, which is still heavily dependent on coal. It also ensures growth in technology and economy.
Nuclear power ensures clean energy with very low carbon emissions. This facilitates achieving India’s net-zero targets for 2070. The bill could also revive stalled civil nuclear deals with the US, France and Japan, reduce dependence on Russia alone and enhance India’s image as a responsible global nuclear player.
Why does India need nuclear energy?
India is struggling with solar, wind and hydroelectric energy due to its geographical and climatic variability and is still dependent on coal for power generation. Storage and grid integration costs for renewable energy remain high.
Thus, it is essential to have adequate baseload generation capacity for economical and unrestricted supply. To achieve energy security for a growing economy, India must strengthen and expand its nuclear power sector. Furthermore, the power mix must have sufficient baseload generation capacity to make it affordable and reliable for consumers. Nuclear power plants are one of the most effective in ensuring this.
What is India’s Atomic Energy Mission?
India has a large-scale indigenous nuclear power program based on the fuel cycle which aims to utilize India’s vast thorium reserves. Currently, India operates 25 nuclear reactors across seven power plants – 21 pressurized heavy water reactors and four light water reactors – all managed by NPCIL.
According to RB Grover, distinguished professor emeritus of the Homi Bhabha National Institute and member of the Atomic Energy Commission, since India does not have enough uranium, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited has mastered the design and operation of pressurized heavy water reactors. Bhabha Atomic Research Center has developed technology to reprocess spent fuel to recover valuable materials and handle nuclear waste. In this sense, India is independent and self-reliant in its nuclear energy production. India has started operating a fast breeder reactor for the use of thorium.
Why has the opposition strongly criticized the bill?
The opposition argues that the Bill reduces accountability by allowing profit-driven private partnerships while placing the onus on the state and society. There is a fear of a repeat of incidents like the Bhopal gas tragedy, where accountability and remuneration were avoided by foreign companies despite resorting to civil courts; Moreover, such recourse is not available as per the new law. It is considered unfair to remove supplier liability and limit operator liability and penalties to nominal costs, compared to the actual amount and extent of damage. The ‘polluter pays’ principle has been weakened, and this compromises public safety. Private companies have no liability for accident costs, public safety issues, and long-term risks. The limit of operator liability does not change over 15 years, despite inflation or long-term assessment of the health, environmental, livelihood costs of a serious accident.
Cases like Fukushima and Chernobyl point to the enormous cost of liability. In the case of the Fukushima disaster, the actual civilian damage was 700 times greater than the limit proposed by the peace bill.
Section 39 of the Bill seeks to repeal the RTI Act of 2005. This has given rise to many concerns as it attempts to remove the public interest review and public appeal mechanisms. This would result in the most important information relating to the nuclear sector – including plant details, operations, mechanisms, regulatory submissions and data on nuclear material – being ‘restricted’. This undermines transparency and raises questions about the public accountability of the proposed system. The RTI Act 2005 already exempts, at its discretion, from disclosing information relating to security of India, national interest, commercial information and personal data. But these exemptions are subject to justification in matters of public accountability and public interest.
Section 42 addresses occupational safety, health and working conditions for nuclear facilities. Nuclear workers have been removed from the country’s general labor protection framework. This has triggered protests by ten central trade unions, including the Samyukt Kisan Morcha and the National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers, who have termed the bill as “draconian”.
The opposition says the bill is vendor-driven despite India’s self-reliance in nuclear technology. His argument is that India has deep reserves of thorium, around which nuclear reactors have been built, which should be utilized. The opposition demands that private companies be forced to employ Indian technology.
The bill lacks provisions for mandatory public hearings, environmental impact assessment disclosure, community consent mechanisms, regular public reporting of safety inspections, or parliamentary scrutiny.
The opposition also cited the example of France, where all nuclear reactors are under government control. The bill is being criticized for being pro-profit, pro-oligarchy, promoting crony capitalists and jeopardizing public safety.
Sai Pandey is a freelance writer focusing on politics, current affairs, international relations and geopolitics
