NEW DELHI: : Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the nuclear energy bill that seeks to open the civil nuclear sector to private players, even as opposition members strongly opposed it in its present form over safety and liability concerns while seeking its further scrutiny. The govt, however, defended the proposed legislation, saying it retains “strong safety and liability safeguards”. The bill was passed by voice vote amid a walkout by most of the opposition members with Union minister Jitendra Singh during his reply assuring the House that the proposed legislation seeks to “modernise India’s nuclear framework in line with contemporary technological, economic and energy realities, while retaining and strengthening core safety, security and regulatory safeguards that have been in place since the Atomic Energy Act of 1962”. He emphasised that private participation is needed to meet India’s 2047 clean energy goals.
Removal of the clause related to liability of suppliers of nuclear equipment was the main concern of most of the opposition members as they argued that the omission of such liability would prove to be harmful for India in case of a nuclear disaster.Singh, however, said the bill – Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill – does not dilute compensation to victims and the operator liability has been rationalised through graded caps linked to reactor size to encourage newer technologies such as small modular reactors, while ensuring that full compensation is available to affected persons through a multi-layered mechanism. He maintained that supplier liability was removed after detailed consideration of global practices and advances in reactor safety, while negligence and penal provisions remain enforceable under the law.Referring to the opposition members’ concerns, the minister clarified that private entities will not have control over sensitive materials, and that spent fuel management will continue to be handled by the govt, as has been the practice for decades.Noting India’s efforts to move towards non-fossil fuel energy sources, Singh said the scaling up of nuclear energy is essential to meet rising demand from sectors such as data processing, healthcare and industry, alongside renewables. The bill, he said, enables responsible private and joint venture participation to bridge resource constraints, shorten gestation periods and support the national goal of 100 GW nuclear capacity by 2047, without compromising national security or public interest.Though most of the opposition members from the Congress and other parties walked out of the House when the minister moved the bill for passing, TMC MPs remained inside with party veteran Saugata Roy moving certain amendments, which were eventually negated by voice vote.During the discussion, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor described the bill as a “dangerous leap into privatised nuclear expansion” with inadequate safeguards. “We cannot allow the pursuit of capital to override the non-negotiable requirements of public safety, environmental protection and victim justice,” the MP from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram said.Another Congress MP Gaddam Vamsi Krishna accused the Centre of shirking accountability and endangering national security by handing over critical responsibilities to private players. He termed as ironic the name “SHANTI” for a bill that he said has “very dangerous” implications for national safety.“Who will be liable when an accident or incident happens in the nuclear space,” he asked, even as he questioned privatisation of the nuclear sector by underlining that countries like France, Russia, China and South Korea maintain state-owned nuclear sectors.
