Statement

Sir, it has to be put in a centrifuge. We are short of nuclear fuel. Now, we are allowing import of nuclear fuel, import of equipment, and you are also allowing private parties to construct nuclear reactors. So, the whole thing should be considered afresh. The Minister should send this Bill to a Select Committee without hurrying. He should not make haste or hurry. He should consider sending it to a Select Committee. Let us consider all these aspects and then we can decide upon it. Hence, I oppose this Bill and propose it to be referred to a Select Committee. Thank you. SHRI ARUN NEHRU (PERAMBALUR): Sir, thanks for the opportunity to present my views on the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI). I think that this is an oxymoron as nuclear energy has nothing to do with shanti. The powers that you deal with are extremely dangerous. So, I think that this is an oxymoron. The first thing that I want to start with is motivation. Now, irrespective of being from wherever politically we are, the motivation is simple. It is very different for private enterprise and it is completely different for public enterprise. Now, the 17.12.2025 1068 private sector is answerable to the shareholders. Every year, the private sector's pursuit is profit through economy and through business. It is always profit at the end of the day. So, the bottom line that matters for the private sector -- irrespective of being in any other business, we have seen it in warfare scenarios and we have seen it where humans have gone to inhuman ways to seek profit - - in this particular scenario is still pursuit of profit whereas the public sector has a different motivation. As regards the public sector, it is the obligation of the State and it is the prestige of the State to preserve, nurture, and to showcase to the world that we are actually better off and we have done it. In fact, in the last so many years, the atomic establishment in the country has been one of the finest in the world, and we have showcased ourselves to be a safe, responsible nuclear power. Now, one of the things is that it is a commitment of the sovereign. So, we take so much care, irrespective of the politics, to ensure that our image, through the nuclear deterrence, is actually shown to the world to be a responsible power. Now, I would also want to tabulate the difference between a private enterprise and a public enterprise across various industries and the outcomes that have happened because of a policy change allowing private enterprise to come in. I am not against private enterprise, but I want to point out to the House that in certain sensitive segments the pursuit of profit has actually caused harm rather than productivity in this country. Let us take the example of energy. Now, in energy, there are a number of instances where tragedies have happened, but let me stick to economics of 17.12.2025 1069 energy now. In the last 10 years, the cost of electricity -- that has been consumed by the consumers -- has actually increased by 25 per cent when there are more private enterprises commissioning plants. This is a good thing. But the outcome of it is that you have the cost increased by 25 per cent. On the public enterprise side, we have superb enterprises like the NTPC, CIL, and GAIL, thanks to the stalwarts of nationalization who actually gave these products to us. The second thing is finance. In the industry of finance, private sector has come up with innovation in finance in a number of ways. There have been so many good things, but I also want to point out that corporate write-offs in the last 10 years have increased so many times. I am not trying to say that it is wrong. It is right, but the outcome of a policy which is allowing private players to pursue profit, is actually corporate write-offs, where on the other side, we have public institutions, not even companies, like SBI and LIC, pursuing the public welfare. The two more things are food and agriculture. You see, one of the outcomes of the private enterprise coming in is the shortage of fertilizer. It is because of so many other reasons, but one of the reasons is that the private has a very large share of fertilizer production in this country, and that is one of the consequences of having a shortfall in fertilizers in the last season. On the other hand, we have TN's horticulture mission, which actually have policies to enable the largest per capita production of vegetables in the country. The last point we have in this case itself is nuclear energy. You had Fukushima and you had Chernobyl happenings. Fukushima is again a private 17.12.2025 1070 enterprises in Japan, a country with much higher technical capabilities because of their history. It has actually shut nuclear production for a long period of time. So, I want the House to note that even with technical expertise, this has to be handled with utmost caution. Now, we have on the other side public enterprise of Kalpakkam Nuclear Energy, where fast breeder reactor, technology have been pursued, and it is still safe and no incident has been reported in the Kalpakkam. Now, a very important point is the risk profile. Whenever our country is open and is liberal, it is trading in dollars. We are exporting and we are importing. One of the things is that this Bill opens up litigation to international forums. Previously, it was supposed to be within the jurisdiction of this country, and our courts had jurisdiction over nuclear incidents. What I want to point out here is that it will have an implication when our private enterprise or when the country borrows in dollars because our risk profile is also tied up to any of the litigation that may come up in the future. And, because litigation and insurance is about future products, it is about a future risk. So, the risk profile of our country, because of it being open up to international forums, is going to increase the cost of borrowing in international markets. Hence, our exports are going to be expensive. I want the House to note that also. The next point that I want to point out is liability. The liability regime in this particular Bill is actually pro-operator. The Government has reasons to make it pro-operator because they want to say, “We want better technologies to come, we want better operators to come, we want large players to come.” Yes, we all 17.12.2025 1071 agree. But there are certain things which actually you should note. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) is given a statutory backing, which is long due, which is important also, but there are certain provisions by which a Government can instruct AERB too. So, the autonomous nature of AERB on a statutory level is actually short-circuited in this particular Bill. I would want to draw your attention to it. Now, there are strict time-limits on claims. Anywhere in the country and anywhere in the world also, whenever nuclear energy is present, there is always claims and counterclaims because of the nature of technology involved and its sensitivity. Now here, the Government has come up with a particular section that says, “Any of the claims must be pursued through the Claims Commissioners.” You cannot approach the court system or the judiciary here. Again, what the Government intends to do is to basically say, “We have given you a separate infrastructure so as to settle claims.” But we know the history of claims and the jurisprudence in the country also. So, there is enormous power from the Government to the operator to actually execute the project in spite of the claims. So, there is a need for the Government to clarify that they can actually be fair to the claimants, if there is any. That is under Clause 70. Clause 70 says, “There is no individual settlement.” Individually, you cannot go and say, “I have a claim.” It will all come from a consolidated group. So, they have to group all the victims or claimants together and the Claims Commissioner decides a certain amount and it has to be divided by the largest denominator, which is the number of people there. So, an individual claim has no merit here. So, what the Bill does is 17.12.2025 1072 that it actually removes the individual rights, which you and I know, Sir, are enshrined in the Constitution of the country and they are sacred to all of us. Clause 54 talks about fixed tariffs. The Government wants to give clarity to the operator, I presume, and that is why Clause 37 has been brought in. But it is a fixed rate. It is not market-linked. Any fixed rate by a public institution like the Government is actually prone to misuse, because the fixing of a rate is completely in the grey area. It is not market-linked; it is not determinable; and there are so many factors involved which remain in the grey zone. Therefore, the Government must come up with a clear plan while actually fixing the price. The most important point, which my colleagues have already pointed out, is that there is a staggered limit on the claims that can arise. The largest or the highest cap is Rs.3,000 crore. I will explain why this Rs.3,000 crore is minuscule when compared to the project size, which I will deal with in the next section, that is, the economics. Now, hon. Members would note that anywhere in the world, nuclear fuel or nuclear energy is only a stop gap thing. The hon. Minister mentioned that wind energy and solar energy have lot of fluctuations because of the nature of the technology involved and the grid system, and he stated that nuclear energy would be a stopgap measure. I would actually thank the Minister for reminding the House that nuclear energy is a stop gap, and I will explain the mechanics and the economics to understand why it is a stop gap and why the two economics do not match. Coming to the cost of nuclear versus other sources of energy, any project 17.12.2025 1073 has tangible costs and intangible costs. Tangible costs are those which can be measured. Intangible costs are those, especially environmental factors, which arise through environmental clearances and the green tribunals that have been set up. If you look at the cost of production and capital expenditure, when you want to establish a nuclear power station or a nuclear project, the cost is Rs.30 crore per megawatt. For coal, it is approximately Rs.12 crore. You can still bring it lower, but Rs.12 crore is considering the latest technology, ensuring clean fuel availability, and making sure cleaner energy is produced. For solar, it is about Rs.4.5 crore per megawatt. These are the current costs even in Indian conditions because abroad it is still very expensive due to statutory norms and safety norms. If you take the Levelised Cost of Electricity, putting all these numbers together – I may not be great at mathematics, but if you ask me to give one number – what is the cost per unit of electricity, it is about Rs.5 per unit when it comes to a nuclear station above 1,000 megawatts. You need that minimum scale because the investment does not work if it is one megawatt or two megawatts. For coal, it is about Rs.5.50 today in Indian terms, and for solar, it is around Rs.3 per unit. Now, coming back to the stop gap point which the hon. Minister highlighted, this project costing Rs.30 crore per megawatt as a stop gap is like a UPS in your home. You may spend Rs.10 lakh or Rs.20 lakh on your house, but the UPS will cost less than Rs.50,000 for the limited purpose it serves, that 17.12.2025 1074 is, ensuring uninterrupted power supply. On a larger scale, nuclear energy plays a similar stop gap role. When you take this stop gap measure, with project costs linked to the dollar because the technology and fuel are dollar-denominated and not rupees, you are actually exposing the country to multiple risks beyond just the cost of production. These are intangible risks. We still do not know the full extent of these intangible costs. Even advanced countries with a mature nuclear industry have not been able to fully figure them out. There are still numerous litigations in the western hemisphere on nuclear energy. Because of this dollar exposure, you have to tap international markets. Domestic markets cannot fund the size and scope of such projects, and technology suppliers will also seek dollar-linked returns. One per cent increase in the interest rate for the borrower impacts the cost of electricity production by about 40 paise per kilowatt hour. You can multiply it by the thousands of megawatts the Government wants to bring in, and the project becomes unviable. A ten per cent increase, which roughly translates to an increase of about Rs.5, would make it completely untenable. Do you think the consumers or the Government or the private industry will be able to bear this? I do not think so. The last point that I want to bring to the attention of the hon. Members of this House is safety. There are a number of fuels but an isotope is a variation of the nuclear fuel. Plutonium-239 is actually the fuel used by India in the fast breeder reactors in the country and we have got good expertise in that. Safety-wise, a lot of 17.12.2025 1075 Members do not know that there is something called the half-life period of this material. The half-life period is the amount of time required for the energy to be reduced into half. One gram of fuel produces one megawatt of power. One gram to reduce to 500 kilowatt takes 24,000 years, forget five or 10 years. Of course, the Government is pursuing on the safety also. One small error is an error of 24,000 years. It is epochs. I come to the last point, which is the geological storage of spent fuel in this country. The geological storage is the storage where you keep the spent fuel which cannot be given outside, which is for approximately 10,000 years. Forget about the policy continuity of 50 years. Are you going to have policy continuity of 10,000 years? There are a number of risks in this Bill where the Government’s intention is to bring up innovation, bring up energy production. 13.31 hrs (Shri Dilip Saikia in the Chair) I think the Government is at risk in terms of safety, in terms of statutory routes, and in terms of getting our engineers to actually come up to date. So, I request the Government to take note that our country is going to open to a lot of foreign risks. I request the Government to revisit the Bill or send it to JPC. Thank you. डॉ. आलोक कुमार सुमन (गोपालगंज) : धÆयवाद सभापित महोदय । म§ आपका आभार Óयĉ करता हóँ िक आपने मुझे Legislative Business के सबसे महÂवपूणª िवधेयक The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill, 2025 पर बोलने का मौका िदया । यह िबल देश कì परमाणु उजाª को िनयंिýत और Sustainable उपयोग करने कì िदशा म¤ 17.12.2025 1076 एक महÂवपूणª ÿगित कì पहल है । इस िवधेयक का मु´य उĥेÔय Atomic Energy Act, 1962 और Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 को Repeal करना है । इससे देश कì वतªमान और भिवÕय कì ऊजाª कì आवÔयकताओं को sustainable łप से पूरा िकया जा सकेगा । महोदय, वतªमान िवधेयक का अनुमोदन होने से परमाणु ईंधन म¤ आÂमिनभªरता एवं परमाणु उजाª को संचािलत करने म¤ सहायता िमलेगी । हम यह कह सकते ह§ िक सरकार Öव¸छ ऊजाª सुर±ा एवं भिवÕय म¤ आने वाली ऊजाª आवÔयकताओं को पूरा कर सकेगी । चौबीस घंटे िवĵसनीय िवद्युत आपूितª ÿदान करने के िलए परमाणु ऊजाª से बहòत सहायता िमलेगी । महोदय, अगर हम िवĵ के Sustainable Development Goals कì बात कर¤ तो भारत ने Energy Sector म¤ Sustainability Öथािपत कì है । वषª 2070 तक Decarbonization of the economy के िलए देश कì łपरेखा तैयार कì गयी है । वषª 2047 तक 100 गीगावाट परमाणु उजाª ±मता ÿाĮ करने के िलए लàय रखा गया है, जो वतªमान म¤ लगभग 7.5 गीगावाट है । इससे Öवदेशी परमाणु संसाधनŌ का पूणª उपयोग होगा तथा सावªजिनक तथा िनजी ±ेýŌ कì सिøय भागीदारी सुिनिIJत होगी । मेरा यह िवĵास है िक हम दूसरे देशŌ को भी परमाणु ऊजाª के सही उपयोग के िलए सहायता ÿदान कर सकते ह§ । महोदय, वषª 2047 तक िबजली कì जłरतŌ म¤ चार से पाँच गुना वृिĦ का अनुमान है । हालांिक नवीकरणीय उजाª ąोतŌ का िवÖतार हो रहा है लेिकन वे अकेले बेस लोड िडमांड को पूरा नहé कर सकते । अतः यह आवÔयक है िक परमाणु उजाª को ÿमुख साधन बनाया जाए । इसिलए सौ गीगावाट Atomic Energy के लàय को ÿाĮ करने के िलए हम¤ ÿित वषª 4 गीगावाट उÂपादन करना होगा । महोदय, म¤ यह बताना चाहóँगा िक NPCIL अपनी सहायक कÌपिनयŌ के साथ िमलकर घरेलू और अंतराÕůीय साझेदारी का लाभ उठाकर 100 गीगावाट के लàय का लगभग आधा िहÖसा हािसल करने का लàय रखती है । NTPC के संयुĉ उīम अिĵनी म¤ माही-बांसवाड़ा म¤ 700 मेगावाट ±मता 17.12.2025 1077 वाले 4 PHWR के िनमाªण का बीड़ा उठाया है । इन सभी गितिविधयŌ म¤ इस िवधेयक से सहायता िमलेगी । महोदय, जैसा िक हम सभी जानते ह§ िक देश म¤ डॉ. होमी भाभा के Ĭारा परमाणु उजाª कì शुŁआत कì गयी थी । कई आशंकाओं के कारण देश के परमाणु िवÖतार पर ÿितबंध भी लगा, लेिकन मजबूत सरकार ने सारी चुनौितयŌ का सामना िकया । महोदय, आज माननीय ÿधानमंýी ®ी नरेÆþ मोदी जी एवं िबहार के माननीय मु´यमंýी ®ी नीतीश कुमार जी के मजबूत नेतृÂव म¤ सरकार परमाणु ऊजाª के ±ेý म¤ अनेक उपलिÊधयŌ हािसल करने कì िदशा म¤ आगे बढ़ रही है । महोदय, दो दशकŌ म¤ 10 नये Æयुि³लयर åरए³टसª का काम ÿगित पर है । उससे Æयुि³लयर पावर जेनरेशन दस गुना बढ़ जाएगा । महोदय, वतªमान िवधेयक के चैÈटर-2 म¤ úांट ऑफ लाइस¤स एंड सेÉटी अथॉराइजेशन कì बात कì गई है । से³शन-3 के सब-से³शन-1 से 5 म¤ सेÉटी आिद कì बात कì गई है । मेरा यह सुझाव है िक Éयूल को सेÉली Öटोर करने के िलए राºय सरकार कì भी सहायता ली जानी चािहए । Æयुि³लयर फैिसिलटी के िलए अिधकतम वाटर यूज होगा, उसके िलए सÖटेनेिबिलटी को Åयान म¤ रखते हòए Öटेट गवनªम¤ट्स से ऑिÊलगेटरी सलाह-मशिवरा िकया जा सकता है । महोदय, चैÈटर-2 का से³शन-4 रेिडयो एि³टव सÊसट§स के रेगुलेशन और रेिडएशन जेनरेिटंग इि³वपम¤ट कì बात करता है । इसम¤ कहा गया है िक सेÉटी अथॉराइजेशन बोडª से लेनी है । इसम¤ मेरा अनुरोध है िक लाइस¤स इÔयू करने कì ÿिकया उ¸च कोिट कì होनी चािहए । रेिडयोलॉिजकल इमरज¤सी पड़ने पर तÂकाल केÆþ सरकार एवं राºय सरकार से मदद िमलनी चािहए । Öटोरेज वाली जगह सुरि±त एवं हामªलेस होनी चािहए । महोदय, से³शन-6 म¤ एिÈलकेशन फॉर लाइस¤स और से³शन-7 म¤ लाइस¤स úांट एवं सुर±ा कì बात कì गई है । इसम¤ मेरा कहना है िक रेिडयो एि³टव वैÖट मैनेजम¤ट, जो एक महÂवपूणª पहलू है और हेÐथ से डायरे³टली åरलेटेड है, इसिलए इसके मैनेजम¤ट पर िवशेष Åयान का ÿÖताव रखना 17.12.2025 1078 जłरी है । मेरा यह मानना है िक इस िवधेयक के पास होने से इन सभी समÖयाओं का समाधान होगा । महोदय, यूनाइटेड नेशÆस के सÖटेनेबल डेवलपम¤ट गोÐस म¤ भारत ने काफì हद तक इसके उĥेÔय को हािसल कर िलया है । उसके अनुसार एनजê से³टर म¤ अपने देश को वषª 2070 तक 'नेट जीरो' काबªन एिमशन के लàय को हािसल करना है । वतªमान िवधेयक इंटरनेशनल एटॉिमक एनजê एज¤सी के मानकŌ कì अनुłपता भी सुिनिIJत करेगा । बजट 2025-26 म¤ परमाणु िमशन कì शुłआत कì गई है, िजसके िलए 20,000 करोड Łपये िनधाªåरत िकए गए ह§, तािक वषª 2033 तक कम से कम 5 Öवदेशी Öमॉल मा◌ॅड्यूलर åरए³टर िवकिसत िकए जा सक¤ । महोदय, वतªमान िवधेयक के चैÈटर-1 म¤ ड्यूटीज और लाइिबिलटीज कì बात कही गई है । इस चैÈटर के से³शन-10 म¤ सेÉटी, िस³योåरटी और सेफ गाड्ªस के िलए ÿाइम रेÖपांिसिबिलटी फै³ůी मािलक, एÌपलॉयर और माइÆस के मािलक आिद लोगŌ कì होगी । इसम¤ मेरा कहना है िक जो भी åरपोट्ªस या åरटÆसª केÆþ सरकार कì जानकारी के िलए भेजी जाए, उस पर ए³सपटª लोगŌ से ही िवचार-िवमशª िकया जाना चािहए । महोदय, से³शन - 11 म¤ ऑपरेटर ऑफ Æयुि³लयर इंÖटालेशन करने वाले कì िजÌमेदारी होगी । Æयुि³लयर इंिसड¤स से Æयुि³लयर डैमेज होती है । इसिलए हम¤ यह भी Åयान रखना होगा िक Æयुि³लयर इंिसड¤ट्स कì िकसी भी हालत म¤ Æयुि³लयर डैमेज न हो । वतªमान िवधेयक के से³शन - 13 म¤ मैि³समम अमाउंट ऑफ लाइिबिलटीज 300 िमिलयन रखी गई है । मेरा यह सुझाव होगा िक इसको बढ़ाकर 400 से 500 िमिलयन िकया जाए । बुरे व³त म¤ यह सहायता काफì उिचत सािबत होगा । महोदय, इÆहé शÊदŌ के साथ म§ इस िबल का समथªन करते हòए अपनी बात को समाÈत करता हóं । धÆयवाद । SHRI KRISHNA PRASAD TENNETI (BAPATLA): Hon. Chairperson, Sir, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity for speaking on such a wonderful 17.12.2025 1079 and very important and watershed Bill for the year 2025. Sir, I rise today, on behalf of my party and our leader, hon. Chief Minister Shri Nara Chandrababu Naidu ji to express my support for the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill, 2025, that is, the SHANTI Bill. Sir, the very name of this Bill reflects our nation’s resort to harness nuclear energy responsibly and strategically for national development and long-term sustainability in line with an aim of Atmanirbhar Viksit Bharat by 2047. Hon. Chairperson, Sir, our country’s journey in atomic energy is deeply rooted in scientific temperament and national foresight. Dr. Homi J. Bhabha, the architect of India’s nuclear programme viewed atomic energy as a driver of development and self-reliance. His vision was complemented by the defence development under Shri Babu Jagjivan Ram ji, whose political resolve as the Defence Minister showcased India’s nuclear capabilities on the international stage with smiling Budhha in 1974, thereby aligning scientific advancement with national security and sovereignty. Hon. Chairperson, Sir, Dr. Homi J. Bhabha ji has envisioned Atmanirbhar Bharat on three stages. We started by talking about uranium and from uranium, after two stages, to thorium because India has 25 per cent of the global reserves of thorium in our country. I want the House to understand this. Had it not been further NDA Government and the vision of our hon. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, we could not have come to the third stage. We passed for several years, 17.12.2025 1080 nearly 50 years in between, but we did not go forward. So, now we have come after the second stage from 2015 amendments which sped up development in nuclear energy to the historic entry into phase-2 of India’s nuclear plan in 2024, wherein the Prime Minister witnessed the commencement of core loading. … (Interruptions)

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In debate Viksit Bharat Gurantee for Rojgar and Ajevika Mission (Gramin):VB-G RAM G Bill