Historic Atomic Energy Revolution! DAE Unveils Draft Rules for Mega SHANTI Act-Opens Nuclear Power to Private Players With Single All-in-One Licence!

In a massive step toward transforming India's clean energy landscape, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has officially released the draft rules under the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act, setting the stage to break the state monopoly and allow private companies and captive industrial users to build, own, and run atomic power plants. The public consultation window is open until September 4, 2026, creating a simplified, investor-friendly framework designed to help India reach its ambitious target of 100 Gigawatts (GW) of nuclear energy capacity by 2047.

The biggest game-changer in the new draft framework is the introduction of a single composite licence that covers all four stages of a plant's lifecycle-building, owning, operating, and decommissioning. Previously, setting up a nuclear plant required endless bureaucratic hurdles at every transition, but this all-in-one approval gives power developers and project lenders long-term regulatory clarity from day one. To further speed up execution, regulators can now grant "in-principle approval" before technology or sites are finalized, allowing companies to acquire land, prepare infrastructure, and negotiate with global equipment vendors in parallel. The rules specifically recognize heavy energy consumers-such as semiconductor fabrication units, AI data centres, aluminium smelters, and cement plants-as eligible for setting up captive atomic reactors to secure uninterrupted, zero-carbon electricity.

Safety and public protection remain strictly guarded under the draft guidelines. Private operators are legally mandated to maintain robust insurance policies or financial securities covering civil liability for nuclear damage, which cannot be terminated until every bit of spent radioactive fuel is completely emptied from on-site storage pools. The Union Government will also appoint an expert panel every five years to review civil liability limits. Additionally, foreign reactor models can only be imported if their design is already certified by trusted global regulatory bodies and operational in their country of origin, ensuring India avoids unproven experimental technology.