{"id":51850,"date":"2025-08-21T20:07:27","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T14:37:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=51850"},"modified":"2025-08-22T18:01:56","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T12:31:56","slug":"india-nuclear-liability-and-energy-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/21-08-2025\/india-nuclear-liability-and-energy-policy","title":{"rendered":"Debate Over Nuclear Liability and Energy Policy in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Government Policy &amp; Intervention; 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 proposed amendments to key nuclear legislations which aim to address long-standing issues related to supplier liability and private sector participation in nuclear energy, have sparked debate in Parliament.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Nuclear Energy Scenario<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India currently generates <strong>only about 3%<\/strong> of its electricity from nuclear sources <strong>(8.8 GW across 24 plants),<\/strong> and is projected to rise to 22,480 MW by 2031\u201332 and 100 GW by 2047 (<strong>Nuclear Energy Mission for Viksit Bharat<\/strong>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/03-02-2025\/union-budget-2025-26\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/03-02-2025\/union-budget-2025-26\">Union Budget 2025\u201326<\/a><\/strong> allocated \u20b920,000 crore for a <strong>Nuclear Energy Mission<\/strong>, including the development of <strong>Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Bharat Small Reactors (BSRs)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Nuclear Liability and Energy Policy in India: Key Legislations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA), 2010:<\/strong> It was introduced after global precedents like <strong>Bhopal gas tragedy (<\/strong>1984<strong>)<\/strong>, <strong>Fukushima nuclear disaster<\/strong> in 2011, and <strong>Gulf of Mexico oil spill<\/strong> for compensating nuclear accident victims.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It channels <strong>primary liability to the operator<\/strong> (typically NPCIL) and caps it at \u20b91,500 crore.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It includes a <strong>\u2018right of recourse\u2019 <\/strong>clause, allowing the operator to seek compensation from suppliers in case of defective equipment or services.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Atomic Energy Act (AEA), 1962: <\/strong>It centralizes control of nuclear energy under the government, prohibiting private companies from operating nuclear plants.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It empowers the <strong>Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB)<\/strong> to enforce safety standards and oversee radiation protection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Core of the Debate<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Safety vs. Investment Trade-off: <\/strong>&nbsp;It is argued that diluting supplier liability could compromise safety and accountability, especially in light of past industrial disasters like Bhopal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Technology Transfer and Strategic Risks:<\/strong> Concerns persist over technology transfer from foreign suppliers, especially in strategic areas like SMRs.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Private companies may be reluctant to share proprietary designs, and national security implications remain a sensitive issue.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Supplier Liability:<\/strong> India\u2019s CLNDA uniquely includes supplier liability, allowing operators to seek compensation from equipment suppliers in case of accidents.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, the <strong>Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC) <\/strong>channels liability solely to the operator.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Legislative Ambiguity and Delays:<\/strong> The<strong> Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project<\/strong>, slated to be the world\u2019s largest, has been stalled for over a decade due to unresolved liability issues.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Closed Nuclear Model and Private Sector Exclusion:<\/strong> Amendments in 2015 to AEA 1962 allowed joint ventures with PSUs, however, direct private sector participation remains prohibited, slowing capacity expansion and technological adoption.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Proposed Amendments<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The government has constituted committees to explore amendments to both <strong>Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA), 2010<\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/06-06-2025\/should-india-amend-nuclear-energy-laws\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/06-06-2025\/should-india-amend-nuclear-energy-laws\">Atomic Energy Act (AEA), 1962<\/a><\/strong>, aiming to allow private sector participation in reactor construction and operation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These changes are expected to align I<strong>ndia\u2019s laws with international norms, <\/strong>particularly the <strong>Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC)<\/strong>, which India ratified in 2016.<\/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>The debate over nuclear liability and energy policy in India touches on questions of public safety, strategic autonomy, and environmental responsibility.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As Parliament prepares to deliberate these amendments, the outcome aims to shape India\u2019s energy future and its place in the global nuclear order.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Daily Mains Practice Question<\/strong><br><strong>[Q]<\/strong> Evaluate the impact of India\u2019s nuclear liability legislation on its energy policy. How does it influence India&#8217;s ability to attract investment, ensure safety, and meet its long-term energy goals?<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/nuclear-laws-and-the-role-of-opposition\/article69955578.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: TH<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/UPSC-Editorial-Analysis-21-August-2025.PDF.pdf\">Download PDF<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The proposed amendments to key nuclear legislations which aim to address long-standing issues related to supplier liability and private sector participation in nuclear energy, have sparked debate in Parliament.<\/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":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial-analysis"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51850","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=51850"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51900,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51850\/revisions\/51900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}