What was once a tightly held national asset has now been restructured into a regulated and investable market. The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Act, 2025 (SHANTI Act) has unlocked India’s nuclear infrastructure sector to the world. For more than sixty years, this industry remained effectively closed to private and foreign participation because the law did not permit entry. With the removal of that legal barrier, India invites global capital to a sector long reserved for the state but now open for private and foreign participation.
The SHANTI Act repeals the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, which occupied the field till date. The SHANTI Act thus unifies the statutory regime, enabling a fair, clear and transparent framework.
In a time when clean, reliable energy commands a premium valuation globally, India has opened an industry defined not only by scale and certainty, but by an expansion trajectory few markets can match. With the publicly stated goal of reaching 100 Gigawatts (GW) of nuclear capacity by 2047 in the Parliament by the Finance Minister of India, India offers foreign investors something rare in today’s energy landscape: a legally welcoming market, a long-term build-out pipeline, and the prospect of stable, infrastructure-grade returns anchored by national policy rather than short-term cycles.
The SHANTI Act recognises nuclear energy as a licensable economic activity, not a state monopoly. The law is drafted with a clear commercial undertone, creating space for participation while retaining sovereign oversight. The message is deliberate. India has laid down how investors can now lawfully, transparently, and securely participate. From a legal standpoint, the investment trail is now clear. Licences may be granted to Indian incorporated entities, including joint ventures and government companies, subject to statutory safety authorisation, thereby enabling participation by foreign investors through permitted ownership, equity, or partnership structures under Indian law.
Crucially, the SHANTI Act does not prescribe an express cap on foreign shareholding in licensed entities. Operational control remains firmly anchored within Indian public law. This enables foreign investors to participate through Indian subsidiaries, joint ventures, or strategic equity partnerships. Technology licensing, EPC participation, fuel cycle collaboration, and long-term service arrangements are all legally viable under the framework. To ensure compliance with India's regulatory and safety rules, foreign investment and technology must flow through locally incorporated entities. With predictable licensing, defined regulatory oversight, and enforceable rights, nuclear projects now resemble other core infrastructure investments. Offering scale and steady, inflation-protected returns. This predictability is supported by continuous regulatory supervision and safety authorisation, reducing compliance uncertainty over the life of the asset.
India’s nuclear scale explains why this opening matters so deeply. According to the Press Information Bureau, the country currently operates a little over twenty nuclear reactors with an installed capacity of roughly 8 to 9 GW, contributing only about 3% of the total electricity generation. This modest base stands in sharp contrast to policy ambition.
By comparison, the World Nuclear Association states that France derives close to 70% of its electricity from nuclear power, while the United States operates more than ninety reactors with a capacity exceeding 95 GW. China, which entered large-scale nuclear development later than India, has already crossed 50 GW and continues to expand rapidly.
Unlike mature nuclear markets where investment is largely directed toward replacing ageing capacity, India represents a predominantly greenfield expansion opportunity driven by rising demand rather than asset substitution. Few markets globally offer expansion of this magnitude within a legislatively supported and politically endorsed timeline.
With a projected tenfold capacity expansion and a legislated framework for private participation, India is creating one of the world’s largest new nuclear investment markets. This scale is not aspirational rhetoric. The Press Information Bureau also states that eleven reactors representing approximately 8.7 GW are already under construction across multiple sites. The pipeline is active, diversified, and expanding, signalling execution rather than intent.
Nuclear power sits at the centre of India’s clean energy strategy because it delivers round-the-clock electricity without the intermittency challenges that accompany renewables. As industrial demand, urbanisation, digital infrastructure, and manufacturing clusters grow, baseload power becomes indispensable.
For investors, this translates into assurance, long operational lives, stable revenue profiles, and insulation from short-term market volatility. Nuclear energy offers long asset lives and predictable cash flows over decades. This combination is rare in today’s energy markets.
India also stands apart among global nuclear destinations for reasons beyond numbers. It combines rising demand with institutional continuity and a stable democratic legal system. Unlike mature economies, where nuclear investment focuses on replacing ageing fleets, India is building a brand new capacity. Electricity demand continues to rise steadily, and nuclear power is positioned as a core component of long-term energy security. As per the World Nuclear Association, global nuclear power costs typically range between $70 and $110 per megawatt hour, placing it competitively within clean energy portfolios when reliability and lifecycle emissions are considered together.
India's previous law was stricter, with a lower operator cap of ₹1,500 crore and provisions allowing lawsuits against equipment suppliers. The new Act aims to balance public protection with the need to attract capital for nuclear energy development. The SHANTI Act simplifies India's nuclear liability system by setting tiered caps based on reactor size, increasing the limit for large reactors to around ₹3,000 crore and establishing a Nuclear Liability Fund.
Most importantly, it makes the plant operator solely liable, with that liability capped, bringing India closer to global standards like the Paris and Vienna Conventions. Under those international frameworks, operator liability is limited, typically between €300 million and €1.5 billion, with the government covering costs beyond that cap. This predictable structure is vital for securing insurance and investment.
For global investors, this clarity matters. The SHANTI Act signals that India takes liability seriously but understands that unquantified exposure deters capital. By aligning with global nuclear liability norms while retaining heightened safeguards, the SHANTI Act makes nuclear investment both responsible and financeable.
International experience also shows that strong liability regimes do not weaken nuclear investment when the rules are clear and consistently applied. In the Tokai Mura Nuclear Accident Compensation Cases (Japan, 1999–2003), Japanese courts imposed strict operator liability and ensured compensation without requiring proof of fault, reinforcing public confidence in nuclear regulation. Importantly, this approach did not derail Japan’s nuclear programme or investor participation. Instead, it demonstrated that predictability and accountability, rather than diluted responsibility, are what sustain long-term investment in high-risk infrastructure. The SHANTI Act reflects this lesson by providing a defined and capped liability structure that protects public interest while preserving commercial viability.
The opening of the nuclear sector is expected to generate spillover benefits across multiple industries. Manufacturing sectors such as heavy engineering, steel, cement, and specialised equipment manufacturing stand to benefit from reactor construction and component supply. The infrastructure sector, including ports, logistics, and construction services, will experience increased demand during multi-decade project lifecycles. Technology-intensive sectors such as nuclear engineering, digital control systems, cybersecurity, and advanced materials will benefit from technology transfer and co-development, particularly in relation to Small Modular Reactors. Downstream sectors, including data centres, semiconductor manufacturing, electric mobility, and green hydrogen, will benefit from reliable baseload power critical to high-energy, high-reliability operations.
India’s regulatory openness creates room for innovation partnerships, co-development, and domestic manufacturing. Combined with provisions allowing patents for peaceful nuclear inventions, the framework encourages technology-led investment rather than mere capital deployment. From law to opportunity, the trajectory is clear. India’s nuclear capacity goals anchor long-term policy certainty and planning. Foreign investors can now participate through equity, technology, construction, operations, and services within a defined legal framework.
The scale is unmatched, the demand is ambitious, and the regulatory signal is deliberate. Nuclear energy in India has moved from guarded ambition to investable reality.
The SHANTI Act is not just a symbolic reform. It is a commercial signal written into law. By opening nuclear energy to regulated participation and rationalising liability, India has transformed its nuclear sector into a magnetic investment destination.
For foreign investors willing to engage with seeking scale, durability, and long term collaboration, the opportunity is no longer emerging. It is here.
About the authors: Sudhir Mishra is the Founder & Managing Partner of Trust Legal. Ritwika Nanda is a Partner and Aditya Sharma is an Associate at the Firm.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. The opinions presented do not necessarily reflect the views of Bar & Bench.
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