U.S. Nuclear Industry Eyes India's $300B Market After SHANTI Act Reform

A 20-member delegation from the United States nuclear industry sat down with Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh this week to explore what India's sweeping nuclear law overhaul means for American companies eyeing one of the world's most significant emerging energy markets.

The delegation included representatives from the Nuclear Energy Institute and the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum. Talks centered on manufacturing partnerships, supply chain integration, and technology cooperation under India's Nuclear Energy Mission — a programme Singh described as generating major opportunities for global partners across research, advanced technology, and industrial collaboration.

The backdrop is India's ambition to scale nuclear power capacity from 8.8 gigawatts today to 100 gigawatts by 2047, a phased expansion that the government estimates represents a market opportunity worth nearly 300 billion dollars.

The legal architecture enabling that ambition is the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Act, 2025 — known as the SHANTI Act. The legislation repeals both the Atomic Energy Act of 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act of 2010, consolidating six decades of nuclear law into a single comprehensive framework.

The most consequential change for industry is who can now participate. For the first time since independence, private Indian companies may own and operate nuclear plants on Indian soil.

Foreign firms may enter the sector through India-incorporated joint ventures and invest up to 49 percent under the automatic route, though companies incorporated outside India cannot directly hold operating licences.

The old liability structure had long been the principal sticking point for Western suppliers. Under the previous law, nuclear equipment vendors faced direct legal exposure in the event of a plant accident — an arrangement that diverged sharply from international norms and effectively kept many American and European companies on the sidelines. The SHANTI Act replaces that flat liability cap with a graded structure calibrated by reactor size and type, bringing India's framework closer to what international suppliers have come to expect.

However, several live issues remain. The implementation regulations under the Act are still being finalised, and American firms have made clear they want meaningful input into that rule-making process before the guidelines are locked in.

Fuel supply security is another unresolved thread with a long history. Following India's 1974 Pokhran nuclear test, the United States began withholding enriched uranium shipments to the Tarapur Atomic Power Station, using fuel access as diplomatic leverage to push India toward signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. India responded by diversifying its fuel sources, turning to France, China, and Russia. American companies can today offer long-term commercial supply contracts, but not sovereign guarantees — and New Delhi is clear-eyed about the difference.

Questions around U.S. export approvals and reprocessing arrangements on the Indian side also remain on the table and will likely require sustained diplomatic engagement before they are resolved.

The delegation is scheduled to continue its visit with a trip to Mumbai, where it will meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, before wrapping up its India programme on May 21.