The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, passed by both Houses of Parliament, marks a consequential moment in the evolution of India’s energy policy. The Bill replaces a fragmented and dated legal architecture with a single comprehensive statute integrating safety regulation, licensing, enforcement, liability and dispute resolution. It grants statutory authority to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, strengthens lifecycle oversight of nuclear facilities and clarifies accountability at every stage of construction, operation and decommissioning.

The directional context for this reform was laid out clearly in the Union Budget for 2025–26. For the first time, nuclear energy was positioned explicitly as a core pillar of India’s energy transition. India’s installed nuclear capacity today stands at roughly eight gigawatts. The roadmap ahead is ambitious. By 2032, India aims to raise nuclear capacity to twenty two gigawatts. By 2047, the target is one hundred gigawatts. This nuclear ambition builds on the strides India has already made in renewable energy. Over the past decade, the country has emerged as one of the world’s fastest growing markets for solar and wind power. Alongside this, the National Green Hydrogen Mission aims to produce millions of tonnes of green hydrogen annually by the........

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