Press release of National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees & Engineers (NCCOEEE), Samyukt Kisan Morcha and the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions
The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill, 2025, or SHANTI, was tabled before the Lok Sabha on 15 December and approved by voice vote on 17 December. The SHANTI bill seeks to repeal the Atomic Energy Act 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act 2010 and to replace them with a single comprehensive law. With the Rajya Sabha also clearing the Bill on 18 December, the Bill will become a new Act after the President of India gives consent.
The Atomic Energy Act of 1962 prohibits private control of nuclear power generation. Only government-owned enterprises, i.e. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and BHAVINI, are legally allowed to own and operate nuclear power plants in India, and private sector companies and foreign investors are not allowed to invest directly in nuclear power. This thus was the first barrier for privatization of nuclear energy sector.
The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act of 2010 has been a second barrier for private companies in the business of manufacturing various equipment, including nuclear reactors required for nuclear power plants, because it gives nuclear operators extensive legal recourse to equipment suppliers in the event of a nuclear incident. The equipment supply companies do not want to take risks of huge damages running into billions of dollars in case of a nuclear accident.
The SHANTI Bill will open up major segments of the nuclear value chain to private operators. This marks a decisive shift towards privatisation of nuclear operations while putting the entire burden of risks on the people and the nation. SHANTI bill thus satisfies desires of interested capitalist companies while sacrificing the interests of working people of our country.
Immediately after the Bill was tabled in Parliament, various organizations of workers and peasants declared their angry opposition. We are attaching below the press release of the National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees & Engineers (NCCOEEE), Samyukt Kisan Morcha and the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions.
