{"id":43671,"date":"2025-05-19T19:28:47","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T13:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=43671"},"modified":"2025-05-19T19:28:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T13:58:59","slug":"govt-allow-private-operators-in-nuclear-energy-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/19-05-2025\/govt-allow-private-operators-in-nuclear-energy-sector","title":{"rendered":"Govt. to Allow Private Operators in Nuclear Energy Sector"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Energy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The government is likely to move<strong> two crucial amendments<\/strong> in the laws governing the <strong>country\u2019s atomic energy sector<\/strong> in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Legal Reforms Underway<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Easing Nuclear Liability Law (Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010): <\/strong>Its objective is to<strong> <\/strong>limit the liability of equipment vendors in case of a nuclear accident. <strong>Key Proposed Changes:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Monetary Cap: <\/strong>Liability may be capped to the original contract value.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Time Limit:<\/strong> Introduce a statute of limitations for how long liability applies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Amendment to the Atomic Energy Act, 1962: <\/strong>Its objective is to allow private and foreign players to enter nuclear power generation.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Current Restriction:<\/strong> Only state-owned entities like NPCIL and NTPC Ltd can operate nuclear plants.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Proposed Change: <\/strong>Permit minority equity participation by foreign\/private entities in upcoming projects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Need for the Changes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>NPCIL: <\/strong>India\u2019s nuclear sector is governed by the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, under which <strong>only government-owned entities<\/strong> such as NPCIL can generate and supply nuclear energy.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>There has been <strong>no private sector involvement<\/strong> in India\u2019s nuclear power sector so far.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Foreign companies<\/strong> like GE-Hitachi, Westinghouse, and Framatome have avoided India due to open-ended liability concerns.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Amending this is crucial to <strong>attract foreign investment and technology.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These moves aim to <strong>unlock the potential of the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement, <\/strong>signed nearly two decades ago.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India intends to package these reforms as part of a <strong>wider trade and investment framework with the U.S.<\/strong>, potentially leading to a trade pact.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Recent U.S. Regulatory Breakthrough<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy granted Holtec International a specific authorisation (SA IN2023-001) under 10CFR810.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Implication: <\/strong>Holtec can now transfer<strong> unclassified SMR technology to Indian partners<\/strong> like Tata Consulting Engineers and L&amp;T.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This clears the path for<strong> design and manufacturing of small modular reactors (SMRs) in India.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Significance: <\/strong>Positions India to <strong>co-develop and manufacture nuclear components domestically.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Need to Increase its Nuclear Capacity:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Nuclear Capacity:<\/strong> India\u2019s plans to increase its nuclear power capacity from the current 8,180 MW to 22,480 MW by 2031-32 and eventually 100 GW by 2047.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Energy Demand Growth:<\/strong> India&#8217;s electricity demand is expected to increase 4-5 times by 2047, and nuclear power will help meet base-load demand alongside renewables.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India\u2019s Targets:<\/strong> To reduce the emission intensity of its GDP by 44% by 2030 from the 2005 level.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>To achieve 50% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Roadmap for 100 GW: <\/strong>A roadmap is being developed with stakeholders, and while challenges remain, achieving the 100 GW target is seen as both ambitious and achievable<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These developments reflect a <strong>historic shift in India&#8217;s nuclear policy.<\/strong> By addressing legal and regulatory obstacles, India is poised to:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Unlock foreign investment and advanced technology.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Expand its clean energy portfolio through nuclear power.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reinforce strategic alignment with the U.S. under the civil nuclear framework.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/in-nuclear-energy-push-govt-to-allow-private-operators-limit-their-liability-amendments-likely-in-monsoon-session-10014675\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The government is likely to move two crucial amendments in the laws governing the country\u2019s atomic energy sector in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>India\u2019s Need to Increase its Nuclear Capacity:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Nuclear Capacity: India\u2019s plans to increase its nuclear power capacity from the current 8,180 MW to 22,480 MW by 2031-32 and eventually 100 GW by 2047.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Energy Demand Growth: India&#8217;s electricity demand is expected to increase 4-5 times by 2047, and nuclear power will help meet base-load demand alongside renewables.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India\u2019s Targets: To reduce the emission intensity of its GDP by 44% by 2030 from the 2005 level.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">To achieve 50% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.<\/li>\n<p><a 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float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43671"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43691,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43671\/revisions\/43691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}