The consultation held on Friday brought together key leaders, policymakers and experts from the government, research institutions and industry to deliberate on the operational framework of the landmark Act.
The stakeholder consultation was chaired by Prof. Abhay Karandikar (Member, NITI Aayog). Other prominent dignitaries included Pankaj Agrawal (Secretary, MoP), Sh. Ghanshyam Prasad (Chairperson, CEA), Gurdeep Singh (CMD, NTPC Ltd.), Dr. Anshu Bharadwaj (Programme Director, NITI Aayog), Rajnath Ram (Adviser, NITI Aayog), Dr. Garima Sharma (Head, SSSD, DAE) and Hari Kumar (Distinguished Scientist and Director, AERB).
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The technical discussions were structured around three critical pillars vital to the Act’s successful rollout:
Legislative & Regulatory Framework: Deliberations focused on the SHANTI Act’s draft rules, regulations and related FDI policy provisions, with the opening technical segment presenting the statutory compliance mechanisms under SHANTI Act, 2025 and highlighting how foreign capital can be attracted while safeguarding domestic interests.
Finance, Insurance & Public Perception: Stakeholders examined the financial mechanisms and risk-mitigation frameworks needed to support the Act’s implementation. The discussion also covered suitable insurance arrangements for long-term projects, along with strategies to strengthen public awareness, community trust and broader acceptance of nuclear energy projects.Manufacturing, Operations & Capacity Building: The focus was on the operationalization phase, with emphasis on strengthening domestic manufacturing capabilities, ensuring operational readiness and building a skilled workforce to sustain the ecosystem. Stakeholders also discussed enhancing supply chain resilience and designing dedicated capacity-building programmes to support industrial scaling and develop a highly competent human resource base.
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Stakeholders provided a range of views across all three critical areas, which will be useful in strengthening the implementation framework of the SHANTI Act, 2025.