India proposes nuclear law to end state monopoly and allow private sector operators

• Private firms may import, process uranium under new bill.
• Foreign firms in joint ventures may apply for licence.
• New bill requires approval from both houses of parliament.
  

NEW DELHI: India on Monday set in motion steps to end decades of state control over nuclear power, by introducing a bill in parliament that would allow private firms to build and operate plants as the government seeks to make atomic energy central to its clean energy push.

Foreign companies in a joint venture with Indian companies could apply for a licence if selected to do so by the government.

India's nuclear sector has been tightly guarded since its first reactor went online in 1969, shaped by Cold War politics and fuel-technology restrictions after its 1974 nuclear test.

State-run Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL) owns and operates India's current fleet of nuclear power plants but Reuters reported last year that India was looking to invite domestic private firms such as Tata Power, Adani Power and Reliance Industries to invest about $26 billion in the sector.

The new bill, which must be approved by the lower and upper houses of parliament to become law, would allow any "person expressly permitted by the central government" to apply for a licence to enter the nuclear sector, a major shift from decades when only state-run companies could operate reactors.

India plans to expand nuclear power capacity to 100 gigawatts (GW) over the next two decades, more than 12 times the current 8.2 GW.

The new bill, named the Sustainable Harnessing of Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill, 2025, drops a rule that lets operators sue suppliers for equipment defects, a provision foreign suppliers have long opposed. Foreign suppliers include General Electric Co, Westinghouse Electric Co and France's EDF.

The bill doubles operator liability for large reactors to 30 billion rupees ($330.75 million), retains the overall compensation cap at previous levels and proposes a nuclear liability fund to cover accident claims in line with global norms.

Private firms will be allowed to import and process uranium, according to the bill. The government has kept strategic activities such as uranium mining, nuclear fuel enrichment and fuel reprocessing under government control, and all operators would require licences.