SHANTI or surrender? an unsettling shift in India’s nuclear liability regime and governance
the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act of 2010 did not confine liability solely to plant operators—the entities that run nuclear facilities—but extended it to suppliers as well. These suppliers include manufacturers and vendors of reactors, components, fuel and nuclear technology. Clause 17(b) of the 2010 Act empowered operators to seek compensation from suppliers if a nuclear incident resulted from defective equipment or substandard materials, preventing any link in the supply chain from evading responsibility.
Russia and France chose to work within India’s legal framework. American corporations...created a geopolitical impasse, chilling US
nuclear bids in India despite the landmark 2008 Indo–US Civil Nuclear Agreement... sought to dilute Clause 17(b), with the argument that it diverged from international frameworks such as the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage.
SHANTI 2025 decisively removes supplier liability, placing full accountability on the plant owner—typically a public-sector entity such as the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL)