According to the draft rules, the Centre has to, once every five years, constitute a group of experts to review the maximum limits of an operator’s civil liability for nuclear damage.
New Delhi: Nuclear plant operators need to maintain an insurance policy, financial security or a combination of both for nuclear damage, according to the draft rules of the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy (SHANTI) Act, 2025.
Released by the Department of Atomic Energy on Friday, the draft rules also state that the financial security has to remain in place till the removal of all spent fuel from the storage pool concerned.
According to the draft rules, the Centre has to, once every five years, constitute a group of experts to review the maximum limits of an operator’s civil liability for nuclear damage.
Earlier Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh on civil liability for nuclear damage had said the SHANTI Act provides that the maximum operator liability for each nuclear incident will vary depending on the category of the nuclear installation, ranging from Rs 100 crore to Rs 3,000 crore.
On civil liability for nuclear damage, the minister said the SHANTI Act provides that the maximum operator liability for each nuclear incident will vary depending on the category of the nuclear installation, ranging from Rs 100 crore to Rs 3,000 crore.
He added that the Central Government will be liable for nuclear damage where the operator’s liability exceeds the prescribed limit, where the incident occurs in a government-owned nuclear installation, or where the damage is caused by exceptional natural disasters, armed conflict, hostility, civil war, insurrection or terrorism.
The government may also establish a Nuclear Liability Fund, financed through a levy charged on electricity tariffs, to meet its liability under the Act, the minister said.
On transparency provisions, Singh said the SHANTI Act exempts disclosure of information classified as “restricted information” where such disclosure would be detrimental to national security and public interest.
Another key provision is that if a nuclear power plant or reactor is of a foreign design, its design should be certified or approved in the country of origin by its regulatory body.
Country of origin here means those countries that are self-reliant in nuclear reactor design and supply-chain ecosystem, whose regulatory approvals are trusted globally, according to the draft rules.
The draft rules say such a nuclear power plant or reactor should also be operational either in the country of origin or any other foreign country.
Moreover, the draft rules highlight that the licensing authority may grant “in-principle approval” after admitting an application, where the site or technology has not been selected.
“Upon receipt of a valid ‘in-principle approval’, the applicant may proceed with negotiation with reactor technology vendors and for acquiring the land and other necessary infrastructure,” the draft rules say.
They also mention that there will be a single composite licence authorising the building, owning, operating and decommissioning of the nuclear power plant or reactor.
“No licence shall be applied for, granted, divided, or severed … in respect of any of those activities separately,” the draft rules say.