India’s nuclear bill shields suppliers from accident liability
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India’s proposed nuclear energy legislation will exempt equipment suppliers from liability in the event of an accident, marking a significant shift in the country’s nuclear regulatory framework.
The government introduced the bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday, seeking parliamentary approval to overhaul the sector. Once passed, the new law will repeal the two existing statutes that currently govern nuclear energy in India.
Under the proposed framework, liability for nuclear incidents will rest solely with plant operators, who will retain the right to seek legal recourse. However, suppliers will be excluded from responsibility, and operators’ legal claims will be limited to individuals found to have intentionally caused damage.
India’s nuclear liability regime has long been viewed as a major hurdle to the sector’s growth, discouraging foreign suppliers despite India signing civil nuclear cooperation agreements with several countries. At present, India has around 9 gigawatts of nuclear power capacity — less than 2 per cent of its overall energy mix. The government aims to expand this capacity more than eleven-fold to 100 gigawatts by 2047.
Nuclear energy is expected to play a key role in boosting India’s clean baseload power and supporting its goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070. The country currently relies on coal for nearly 70 per cent of its electricity and is considering continuing the addition of new coal-fired plants for roughly another two decades.
The proposed legislation, titled the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (Shanti) Bill, 2025, represents a sharp departure from existing regulations that expose both operators and suppliers to litigation under multiple Indian laws. It also introduces graded liability caps based on reactor size. Reactors larger than 3.6 gigawatts would face a maximum liability of 30 billion rupees ($331 million), while reactors of 150 megawatts or less would have their liability capped at 1 billion rupees, according to the published bill.