The Rajya Sabha on Thursday took up a discussion on the nuclear energy bill, with Union Jitendra Singh asserting that no compromise will be made with the safeguard mechanism in place.
Singh, the Minister of State, Department of Atomic Energy, moved the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, which seeks to open the tightly-controlled civil nuclear sector for private participation.
The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The minister stated that nuclear is a reliable 24x7 power supply source, which is not so in the case of other renewable energy options.
"In the last 10-11 years, India has assumed a global role for itself. India is no longer following others as it happened earlier...we are the first line nation. We are no longer followers. India is offering cues for others to follow," he said.
It is for the first time after 2014, priority being given to global concerns, whether it is climate, energy, energy security or clean energy, he added.
He told the House that there will be a diversion towards clean energy for a number of reasons because the entire world is moving towards that, and it is also important for us to achieve the goal in toto, so that India becomes less and less dependent on petroleum resources or fossil fuel sources.
"We also require nuclear energy, which is a reliable 24x7 energy source, unlike other renewable energy options," Singh said.
He informed the House that a lot has been done to upscale nuclear energy. Before 2014, the budget of the atomic energy department was just Rs 13,879 crore, which has now increased to Rs 37,483 crore in the current year.
He said that in 2015, this government took another bold decision and opened the nuclear sector for joint ventures, but those were limited to PSUs only and not to the private (players).
In 2017, in a cabinet decision, a bulk approval was given to set up 10 reactors. In September 2025, the Prime Minister laid the foundation of four nuclear reactors, he added.
When this (NDA) government came to power in 2014, the nuclear power capacity was just 4.7 GW; now it is 8.9GW, he pointed out.
He informed that this capacity is just 3 per cent of the required power generation, and to scale it up to at least 10 per cent by 2047, a nuclear energy mission was launched in this budget.
The important component of the mission is opening up nuclear energy for the private sector, but with certain safeguards and other surveillance mechanisms in place.
Referring to the bill, he said some adjustments and modifications are needed to accommodate private players.
He also informed that the regulatory board is also part of this bill and is being given statutory status.
"Let me assure that no compromise will be made with the safeguard (mechanism)," he said.