Stakeholders deliberate on 3 key pillars for implementation of SHANTI Act: NITI Aayog
New Delhi, July 11
NITI Aayog convened a stakeholder consultation on the implementation of the 'SHANTI Act 2025', where experts provided a range of views across critical areas, which will be useful in strengthening the implementation framework of the Act, it was announced on Saturday.
According to NITI Aayog, the consultation brought together key leaders, policymakers and experts from the government, research institutions and industry to deliberate on the operational framework of the landmark Act.
The technical discussions were structured around three critical pillars vital to the Act's successful rollout.
Under the Legislative and Regulatory Framework, deliberations focused on the SHANTI Act's draft rules, regulations and related FDI policy provisions, with the opening technical segment presenting the statutory compliance mechanisms under SHANTI Act, 2025 and highlighting how foreign capital can be attracted while safeguarding domestic interests.
Under the Finance, Insurance and Public Perception framework, stakeholders examined the financial mechanisms and risk-mitigation frameworks needed to support the Act's implementation.
The discussion also covered suitable insurance arrangements for long-term projects, along with strategies to strengthen public awareness, community trust and broader acceptance of nuclear energy projects.
Also, under the Manufacturing, Operations and Capacity Building framework, the focus was on the operationalisation phase, with emphasis on strengthening domestic manufacturing capabilities, ensuring operational readiness and building a skilled workforce to sustain the ecosystem.
Stakeholders also discussed enhancing supply chain resilience and designing dedicated capacity-building programmes to support industrial scaling and develop a highly competent human resource base, said the official statement.
The stakeholder consultation was chaired by Professor Abhay Karandikar (Member, NITI Aayog).
Other prominent dignitaries included Pankaj Agrawal (Secretary, MoP); Ghanshyam Prasad (Chairperson, CEA); Gurdeep Singh (CMD, NTPC Ltd.); Dr. Anshu Bharadwaj (Programme Director, NITI Aayog); Rajnath Ram (Adviser, NITI Aayog); Dr. Garima Sharma (Head, SSSD, DAE) and Hari Kumar (Distinguished Scientist and Director, AERB).
The SHANTI Act 2025 aims to achieve self-reliance in the nuclear sector and meet India's 2047 clean energy goals. The Act 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.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Interesting approach by NITI Aayog. As someone who has worked in energy policy, I appreciate the focus on FDI safeguards. However, I worry about the 'Make in India' component - can our domestic manufacturing really scale up to meet 100 GW? The capacity building pillar needs serious attention.
I'm cautiously optimistic. The inclusion of public awareness and community trust in the framework is a good sign. Too often, big projects get pushed without local consent. But I hope the government ensures rigorous safety audits and transparent processes. Nuclear is no joke - one mishap and we're dealing with generations of consequences.
Great to see AERB and DAE officials involved. But I have one concern - private participation in nuclear energy. We saw what happened with power sector privatisation; are we sure the same mistakes won't be repeated? Need strong regulatory teeth in the SHANTI Act to prevent corporate corner-cutting.
As an environmental researcher, I'm glad to see this move towards clean baseload power. Nuclear + renewables is the only realistic path to net-zero for India. The 2047 target aligns perfectly with our Independence centenary. Just hope the insurance framework covers long-term decommissioning costs too - that's often overlooked!
The technology transfer aspect will be crucial. India has proven expertise in thorium-based reactors, but we still need imported tech for some advanced designs. The FDI provisions in the SHANTI Act need to balance IP protection with genuine knowledge sharing. Hope the stakeholder consultations addressed this practically.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.