Amendments to nuclear laws still in the works, unlikely this monsoon session

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Amendments to two crucial laws on nuclear energy are still being reviewed by stakeholders and is unlikely to be tabled in the upcoming monsoon session of the Parliament, government officials involved in the matter told Moneycontrol.

Besides, amendment bills on the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA), 2010 were also not part of the agenda items released by the Lok Sabha for the session that begins July 21 and ends on August 21.

Centre wants to involve state governments and the private sector in nuclear power generation, and to enable that, it must amend the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA), 2010, the drafts of which are currently being worked upon.

“As of now, the Bills have not taken a final shape. These are serious laws where the safety aspect has to be kept in mind while drafting each clause. A draft framework was ready, but substantial reviews are currently underway,” said one of the senior government officials.

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At present, nuclear energy falls under the regulated sector, which means it is under the complete control of the Central government alone. Central PSU enterprise Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) is the sole organisation allowed to build and operate nuclear power plants in the country.

A second official said intense discussions are on with regard to the CLND Act. “There is no consensus on the CLND Act till now. The suppliers need clarity on the extent of the liability they need to bear in the event of an accident and whether it can be passed on to sub-suppliers,” said the official.

Currently, the CLND Act has a no-fault clause where the operator has to upfront pay flat Rs 1,500 crore. But the operator has a right to recourse from the supplier in case the accident has taken place because of faulty supply or faulty services by third parties. “Clarity is being sought in this aspect as well. They want to know to what extent the right to recourse can be exercised,” said the official.

“This issue is cropping up because private participation is likely to rely on imported reactors as well. In case of indigenous reactors, it is not problematic as the sole responsibility would be that of NPCIL. But, in case of imported reactors, the supplier will be the foreign technology or design partner. So, it is still to be decided how the liability in the event of an accident will be shared across the value chain,” the official added.

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The value chain means the Indian company which enters the nuclear energy sector, followed by the foreign firm which is sharing the technology or design of the reactor, and then the equipment vendors or suppliers of those foreign firms.

India’s current nuclear power capacity is 8.8 GW, and the Centre aims to increase it to 22.48 GW by 2031-32, and eventually to 100 GW by 2047 - a mission that could be accelerated with private participation. For this, India had announced a National Nuclear Energy Mission in its 2025 Union Budget with an outlay of Rs 20,000 crore.