Parliament was told on Wednesday that the final recommendations from stakeholder ministries are being included into the draft Atomic Energy Bill, which is in advanced stages of preparation.
“The draft Atomic Energy Bill 2025 is presently at an advanced stage of processing and development, with the Ministry of Law and Justice concurrently assessing it for legal conformity and gradually incorporating final comments and ideas from numerous ministries.” Minister of State for the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh remarked in a response to a highlighted question in Lok Sabha.
Policy instructions of the government with respect to certain sections of the Bill are being adequately included before being put up for approvals, the Minister stressed.
Singh said that the government is tackling all of these concerns, including nuclear safety, regulatory supervision, liability laws, compensation frameworks, and insurance pools.
“Once the draft is reviewed by the relevant ministries and authorized by the government, the particular modalities of the many aspects/concerns highlighted by the Member are being addressed in the revisions suggested, and the stance on these will be made explicit,” he said.
On Monday, Minister of State for Power Shripad Naik in answer to a written inquiry in Rajya Sabha stated “Amendments to the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 are being brought up to attract private sector investment.”
enormous potential
Nuclear power offers enormous potential to assure long term energy security and is important for India’s clean energy transition towards Net Zero by 2070. It is a clean and environment friendly source of base load electricity which is accessible 24×7, he underlined.
In FY25, nuclear energy accounted for 3.1% of the nation’s total electrical production. The existing installed nuclear power capacity is planned to expand from 8,780 megawatt (MW) (excluding RAPS-1) to 22,380 MW (excluding RAPS-1) by 2031-32 on gradual completion of projects under implementation.
The government has also established a Nuclear Energy Mission to attain a nuclear power capacity of 100000 MW (100 GW) by 2047.
A total financial allocation of ₹20,000 crore has been provided for the design, development, and implementation of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) under the Mission, as stated in the Budget FY26. By 2033, India hopes to have developed and operationalized at least five SMRs with indigenous designs, and this funding will help achieve that goal.
