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India Moves to Open Civilian Nuclear Power to Private Firms as Adani Explores Entry

Lawmakers will take up a bill next week to open the sector to private players, with liability clarity central to winning investment.

Overview

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the policy shift on November 27 while inaugurating Skyroot Aerospace’s Infinity Campus, linking the move to earlier space-sector liberalisation.
  • The Atomic Energy Bill, 2025 is listed for introduction in the Winter Session of Parliament beginning December 1 to enable private participation in nuclear power.
  • The government has signalled parallel changes to the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, with supplier liability and insurance frameworks still unresolved.
  • Officials and reports outline potential models including privately developed small modular reactors, joint ventures with NPCIL for large plants, and tightly regulated greenfield projects, aligned to a roughly 100 GW capacity goal by 2047.
  • Adani Group’s CFO said the conglomerate is interested in entering via a public–private partnership model subject to a clear framework and liability rules, while nuclear-linked stocks such as L&T and BHEL gained after the announcement.