{"id":48813,"date":"2025-07-21T20:46:50","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T15:16:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=48813"},"modified":"2025-07-23T17:36:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T12:06:21","slug":"india-private-sector-civil-nuclear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/21-07-2025\/india-private-sector-civil-nuclear","title":{"rendered":"India To Address Concerns of Private Sector in Civil Nuclear Segment"},"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 Union Minister of Science and Technology has said that India will address the <strong>apprehensions <\/strong>of the <strong>private sector<\/strong> <strong>globally <\/strong>about<strong> investments in the civil nuclear sector.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Nuclear Sector was opened up to achieve the <strong>ambitious target<\/strong> of producing<strong> 100 GW of atomic power by 2047.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Currently, India produces 8780 MWe of nuclear power and plans to scale it up to 22,480 MW by 2031-32.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/21-07-2025\/india-private-sector-civil-nuclear\">private sector involvement<\/a><\/strong> in India\u2019s nuclear power sector so far.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the budget 2025, the Finance Minister announced the government&#8217;s intention<strong> to amend key legislation,<\/strong> including the <strong>Atomic Energy Act and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, <\/strong>to facilitate <strong>private sector involvement<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Need for Private Players in Nuclear Sector<\/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 to <strong>100 GW by 2047.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/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<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concerns of Private Sector<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s supplier liability in the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA)&nbsp; imposes <strong>strict and no-fault liability<\/strong> on the operator.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reason:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Inspired by <strong>past tragedies like the Bhopal Gas Disaster (1984),<\/strong> where <strong>defective equipment <\/strong>played a role.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Legislators aimed to<strong> ensure accountability beyond<\/strong> just the operator.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Operator Liability:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As per the Act, operator means the <strong>Central Government or any authority or corporation <\/strong>who has been granted a <strong>licence<\/strong> pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 for the operation of that installation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Operator must pay \u20b91,500 crore in damages, insured or secured via financial means.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If claims exceed this, the government will cover up to 300 million Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) (\u20b92,100\u2013\u20b92,300 crore).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Supplier Liability (Section 17):<\/strong> It is unique to India and introduces liability for suppliers under:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>17(a):<\/strong> If contractually agreed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>17(b): <\/strong>If an incident results from<strong> defective equipment <\/strong>or services (even if not intentional).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>17(c):<\/strong> If caused intentionally by the supplier.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>This goes beyond Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC),<\/strong> which allows recourse only if contractually agreed or intentional wrongdoing is proven.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Legal Ambiguity (Section 46): <\/strong>It states that other legal proceedings (civil\/criminal) are not barred by the Act, which opens the door to <strong>civil suits outside CLNDA<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Raises fear among suppliers of being sued under tort law, potentially leading to unlimited liability, despite the capped liability for operators.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Tort law<\/strong> is considered to be a form of <strong>restorative justice <\/strong>since it seeks to remedy losses or injury by providing monetary compensation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/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>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:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/india-will-address-concerns-of-private-sector-on-investments-in-civil-nuclear-segment-minister\/article69834034.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The Union Minister of Science and Technology has said that India will address the apprehensions of the private sector globally about investments in the civil nuclear sector.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>About<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The Nuclear Sector was opened up to achieve the ambitious target of producing 100 GW of atomic power by 2047.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Currently, India produces 8780 MWe of nuclear power and plans to scale it up to 22,480 MW by 2031-32.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India\u2019s nuclear sector is governed by the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, under which only government-owned entities such as NPCIL can generate and supply nuclear energy.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">There has been no private sector involvement in India\u2019s nuclear power sector so far.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/21-07-2025\/india-private-sector-civil-nuclear\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm 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-48813","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\/48813","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=48813"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48971,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48813\/revisions\/48971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}