A bold step amid an ambitious nuclear energy target

The Hindu Editorial Analysis
19 December 2025

A bold step amid an ambitious nuclear energy target

(Source – The Hindu, International Edition – Page No. – 8)

Topic : GS 3: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.

Context

The SHANTI Bill, 2025, will strengthen and accelerate India’s nuclear energy roadmap.

Introduction

Human development has long been closely linked to energy consumption. In a landmark 1971 Scientific Americanpaper, Earl Cook mapped the rise in per capita energy use across successive stages of human progress. Primitive societies relied solely on energy for food. With the hunting stage, energy demands expanded to shelter and commerce. The shift to agriculture added requirements from industry, farming, and transportation. These needs intensified through the industrial and technological phases. Today, the digital era marks a new stage, where the digitalisation of the economy creates additional and growing energy demands.

Growth rate and generation

• Human Development Index (HDI) is a widely accepted measure of human development, combining per capita income, education, and health.
• A strong correlation between HDI and per capita Final Energy Consumption (FEC) allows estimation of the energy required to achieve a desired HDI level.
• As a G-20 member, India aspires to match countries with an HDI above 0.9.
• Estimates suggest that to reach an HDI of 0.9, even after accounting for efficiency gains and electrification of end uses, India would need to generate nearly 24,000 TWh of energy annually.
• Of this total, around 60% would be consumed as electricity, while the remainder would be used to produce hydrogen through electrolysers.
• Hydrogen is critical for decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors such as steel, fertiliser, and plastics manufacturing.
• With the development of alternative low-carbon hydrogen technologies at scale, the future electricity requirement for hydrogen production could decline.
• In 2023–24, India’s total electricity generation stood at about 1,950 TWh, with a recent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of roughly 4.8%.
• If this growth rate is sustained, India could reach 24,000 TWh per year in about four to five decades.
• Two major challenges complicate this transition:
  • Decarbonising the energy mix
  • Simultaneously expanding end-use electrification
• Currently, electricity accounts for only about 22% of FEC, and this share must increase substantially.
• India’s existing energy mix is heavily dependent on fossil fuels, which must be progressively replaced.
• Achieving this transition requires a sharp increase in generation from low-carbon sources such as hydro, nuclear, solar, and wind energy.

The decarbonised energy mix

• In India, the potential of hydropower and wind energy is limited, while high population density restricts the availability of large land areas for solar photovoltaic deployment.
• Although the full potential of hydro, solar and wind must be utilised, these sources alone are insufficient to meet the energy levels required for an HDI above 0.9.
• Consequently, nuclear power generation needs to be significantly expanded, and until then, fossil fuels will continue to play a role in meeting energy demand.
• Solar and wind energy are inherently intermittent, with electricity output varying by time of day and season.
• Balancing electricity supply and demand requires energy storage when generation is high and backup generation when it is low.
• Large-scale storage, especially to manage seasonal variability, is extremely expensive, making it an impractical standalone solution.
• To ensure affordable electricity, the power mix must include adequate baseload capacity—sources that operate independently of weather or time.
• Nuclear power plants provide reliable baseload electricity and are therefore essential to a decarbonised energy mix.
• Recognising this need, institutions under the Department of Atomic Energy, in collaboration with Indian industry, have worked to make the nuclear supply chain largely indigenous.
• Uranium remains the only major input that must be imported, as domestic reserves are insufficient.
• India has developed capabilities for nuclear fuel fabrication, heavy water production, and manufacture of reactor equipment, particularly for Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs).
• The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has mastered the design and operation of PHWRs, with capacities up to 700 MW.
• Three 700 MW PHWR units are already operational, a fourth is nearing completion, and two more are at an advanced construction stage.
• In 2017, the central government approved the construction of 10 additional 700 MW PHWRs, and progress on these projects is ongoing.
• A dedicated nuclear regulatory body, established in the 1980s, now possesses the expertise and capacity to effectively regulate nuclear power plants.
• The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has developed technologies to reprocess spent fuel, recover valuable materials, and manage nuclear waste safely.
• Collectively, these efforts make nuclear energy a technically feasible, economically viable, and safe option for India’s long-term decarbonisation strategy.

The SHANTI Bill

• Recent achievements in the nuclear sector have encouraged the central government to set an ambitious target of 100 GW of installed nuclear capacity by mid-century.
• Both Houses of Parliament have passed the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025.
• The SHANTI Bill is an overarching legislation, consolidating key provisions from the Atomic Energy Act, 1962and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.
• The Bill provides legal continuity by stating that the existing Atomic Energy Regulatory Board shall be deemed to have been constituted under this Act.
• It clearly assigns the primary responsibility for safety, security, and safeguards to the licensee operating the nuclear facility.
• The 100 GW nuclear target is undeniably ambitious, reflecting the scale of India’s long-term development and decarbonisation goals.
• Passage of the SHANTI Bill represents a bold policy step, signalling strong political commitment to nuclear energy.
• For India to transition into a developed country, such ambitious targets and decisive legislative actions are both necessary and timely.

Conclusion

Achieving high human development demands reliable, affordable and clean energy at scale. Given India’s constraints with renewables, nuclear power emerges as a crucial baseload solution for deep decarbonisation. The SHANTI Bill, 2025 provides the institutional clarity and policy confidence needed to expand nuclear capacity. Such bold reforms are essential if India is to realise its developmental aspirations sustainably.