India’s vision of sustainable, equitable, and energy-secure growth incorporates the premise that atomic energy be pursued with utmost safety.
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Public confidence has always been the cornerstone of India’s nuclear programme. The country’s vision of sustainable, equitable, and energy-secure growth incorporates the premise that atomic energy be pursued with utmost safety, unquestionable responsibility, and transparent communication. The pillars of Safety, Liability, and Public Trust are not abstract ideals; these are the practical foundations of India’s nuclear enterprise.
As we contemplate a new legislative framework for atomic energy, it is imperative to ask: What must this new Act guarantee? The answer, in my view, lies in strengthening these very foundations, ensuring that the law both protects and empowers, simplifies and safeguards, encourages innovation while never compromising the public confidence.
Safety –Institutionalising a Culture of Perfection
Safety in nuclear technology cannot be an appendage to design; it must be its core philosophy. From India’s first research reactors at Trombay to the indigenous 700 MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors and the advanced next-generation reactors, the designs have always been guided by defence-in-depth and passive safety features.
When we conceived the Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR), our goal was not only to demonstrate thorium utilisation but also to demonstrate that a reactor could remain safe even without operator intervention – a “walk-away safe” design. Indeed, safety is an integral part of the nuclear energy deployment.
The new Act must, of course, guarantee that the ethos of safety continues. It should reaffirm India’s unwavering commitment to the highest safety standards and strengthen the autonomy, authority, and accountability of the regulatory institutions. It should encourage technology upgrading and transparent safety reviews, as needed. It should also promote information-sharing on operational performance.
In any industry, and more so for nuclear, safety is not a static goal. It has to be treated as a culture that must be continuously nurtured. Particularly in case of the nuclear ecosystem, this culture has to be reinforced with an institutional framework.
Liability – Ensuring Responsibility with Clarity
The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLND Act) has been a pioneering step that balanced three vital interests: protection of the public, assurance to suppliers, and confidence of operators. It enshrined a no-fault liability principle and ensures that the operator’s responsibility remains clear and channelled.
The evolution of the energy landscape and the industrial ecosystem has necessitated a greater degree of clarity on liabilities of the concerned entities. Such refinements are part of the natural progression of any mature sector, ensuring that governance frameworks keep pace with scientific advancements and societal expectations.
The new Act must guarantee that the governance framework remains fair, clear, and enabling without ambiguity, while also maintaining a well-defined chain of accountability. It must also ensure that the mechanisms to evaluate liability should be commensurate with the range and scale of nuclear deployment in the country. A modern liability regime must reaffirm that safety and responsibility go hand-in-hand with growth.
Public Trust – The Cornerstone of Progress
In spite of the excellent safety record of the nuclear industry worldwide, public attitudes toward atomic energy have often been shaped more by perceptions than by scientific facts. The Unreasoned Fear of Radiation, a book I co-authored a few years ago, was an effort to dispel such misconceptions. It explains that radiation, in controlled and well-regulated contexts, is as safe as any other technology that we routinely and confidently use in our daily lives.
Public trust can only be earned through transparency and communication with the public. When citizens see, for example, nuclear science saving lives through radiotherapy, enhancing crops through mutation breeding, or providing safe water through radiation purification, they begin to relate to the human face of atomic energy. During my tenure at DAE, we made several efforts in this direction by initiating new outreach strategies, resulting in displaying atomic energy tableau in the 2015 Republic Day Parade and launching presence on broadcast and social media. These steps were not cosmetic; they were meant to dissolve the barrier between science and society.
If the new Act can promote open dialogue with the citizens, it will redefine the social contract of science with society. In doing so, it will fulfil the spirit of our enduring motto: Atoms in the Service of the Nation.
The new Act should assure that such messaging becomes integral to the system of mandating public disclosure, encouraging educational outreach, and making dialogue with citizens an enduring institutional function.
What the New Act Must Guarantee
If the first Atomic Energy Act of 1962 addressed the core issues about establishing capabilities, the new one must be about instilling confidence with the vision of large-scale deployment. It must reflect the maturity of a nation that has mastered complex technologies and earned global respect through responsible conduct. What the new Act must guarantee is the mutual assurance between science and society:
• That safety will be upheld in highest regard,
• That liability will always be just and transparent, and
• That public trust will remain at the heart of every decision.
When these guarantees are enshrined not just in law but in institutional behaviour, India’s nuclear future will stand on unshakeable ground.
The Way Forward to Viksit Bharat
India’s nuclear programme is entering a transformative era. Beyond large power plants, small modular reactors and advanced thorium systems will expand the reach of atomic energy. The new Act must therefore guarantee a framework that facilitates faster deployment of technologies, while incentivizing indigenous R&D and manufacturing. It must provide for seamless coordination between regulators, operators, and industry, and flexibility to incorporate future innovations.
In essence, the new Act should create a conducive ecosystem for nuclear renaissance, one that aligns with India’s climate goals and its ambition of becoming a clean-energy leader on the way to building Viksit Bharat @ 2047.
Dr. Ratan Kumar Sinha
(The author is the Former Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy & Former
Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission)