New Delhi, July 21, 2025: The Indian government headed by the BJP that claims to be “Indian nationalists” should give utmost importance to the interests and wellbeing of Indian citizens. They should refrain from amending the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 in order to facilitate private companies’ participation in the construction and development of nuclear reactors in India, and to fetch foreign direct investments for the nuclear industry.

According to Section 3 of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, the Central Government alone has the power “to produce, develop, use and dispose of atomic energy either by itself or through any authority or Corporation established by it or a Government company and carry out research into any matters connected therewith.” If this particular stipulation is changed, it will pave the way for the entry of private players not just as equipment suppliers but also as operators of nuclear power plants and Small Modular Reactors. Having private companies as ‘operators’ is rather dangerous given the unique nature of nuclear energy, emanation of fissile material, management of nuclear waste, and various threats posed to the overall safety and security of the common people.

As far as the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, is concerned, it provides a mechanism for victims to claim compensation for damages caused by nuclear incidents, and creates a clear legal framework for dealing with nuclear liability in India. However, this act puts the entire onus of providing compensation on the ‘operator’ of nuclear power plants and lets the ‘supplier’ go scot-free. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) is the operator of all our reactors right now and this public utility will end up paying compensation to the public with their own tax money.

And the right of recourse provisions allow the operator to seek compensation from the supplier only if such right is included in a written contract, or when a nuclear incident results “as a consequence of an act of supplier or his employee,” or “from the act of commission or omission of an individual done with the intent to cause nuclear damage.” All of this literally means there is hardly any possibility of getting any supplier liability at all.

Even as it is, we are unhappy with the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, because it caps the total liability amount to 300 million SDRs (Special Drawing Rights). This works out to just about a paltry US$ 460 million (Rs. 3,910 crores) per accident. This paltry sum of $460 million is even less than the compensation amount of US$ 470 million given to the victims of Bhopal Gas Disaster way back in 1989, which was a gross under-assessment of liability even then.

Further, the Act pegs the “liability” of the ‘operator’ at Rs. 1,500 crores per incident, with the further proviso to lower it down to even paltrier Rs. 300 crores for spent-fuel reprocessing plant accidents. Even in case of an accident in a privately-operated nuclear power plant, the amount of “liability” exceeding the above “cap” will have to be paid by the Indian taxpayers.

If the American, French, Russian and other suppliers are so confident about the quality, efficacy and safety of their nuclear technology, why are they insisting on getting our liability act diluted? If the ruling “Indian nationalists” are indeed bent upon protecting the interests and well-being of Indian citizens, why are they dancing to the tunes of foreign and Indian corporations and trying to meddle with the nuclear laws of the land? Why are they not insisting on unbridled supplier liability for all kinds of incidents and accidents in the nuclear power plants? Don’t we all know the real and continuing costs of nuclear accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima?

When all is said and done, nuclear power is not cheap, or safe, or clean, or green. It is definitely not the answer for our climate concerns as it produces dangerous wastes that will imperil our environment for 48,000 years. Polluted air is indeed a problem for us, but poisoning the Earth cannot be the answer for it.

The Union government should not amend the existing nuclear laws without open, transparent and fair public consultations with the people of this country, whose health and well-being, safety and human rights, and life and futures are being systematically jeopardized.

Prof. Achin Vanaik, Dr. Soumya Dutta, N. Subrahmanian

A. Muthukrishnan, S. R. Sarma, S. P. Udayakumar

Coordinators
National Alliance of Anti-nuclear Movements (NAAM)