JSA Prism | Energy | September 2026

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Draft Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Regulations, 2026: Key features and implications

On August 14, 2026, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (the “Board”) released the draft Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Regulations, 2026 (the “Draft Regulations”), under the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Act, 2025 (the “Act”). The Draft Regulations set out the framework for safety authorisation by the Board relating to the nuclear facilities, plants, mines, radiation facilities and related activities. This operates alongside the licensing framework under the Act and the draft Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Rules, 2026 (the “Draft Rules”).

The Draft Regulations primarily address: (a) the scope and framework for safety authorisation; (b) design approval and stage-wise authorisation of nuclear power plants and reactors; (c) other nuclear facilities, plants and mines; (d) radiation facilities; (e) radioactive waste, trade and transport; (f) application and safety review; (g) validity, renewal and transfer of safety authorisation; (h) continuing safety responsibilities; and (i) recognition and certification of persons and agencies.

Salient features

Safety authorisation framework

• The Draft Regulations require safety authorisation from the Board for nuclear power plants and reactors, other specified nuclear facilities and plants, uranium and thorium mines, radiation facilities and connected or incidental activities. For facilities, plants and mines requiring a licence, safety authorisation operates in addition to the licence and cannot extend beyond its validity.
• Safety authorisation or related approvals may be granted to an Indian citizen, an India-registered company, firm, trust or institution.
• The Draft Regulations adopt a graded approach to regulatory control, under which a practice or radiation source may be exempted, registered or subject to full safety authorisation depending on the level of risk. The Board may also grant clearance to remove a radiation source from regulatory control where the prescribed criteria are satisfied.

Design approval and stage-wise safety authorisation

• The Draft Regulations require safety authorisation at 5 (five) stages: siting, construction, commissioning, operation and decommissioning. Each stage is subject to prescribed documentation and safety assessment. The Board may specify regulatory hold points beyond which the project cannot proceed without its written permission.
• A person holding a valid licence for a nuclear power plant or reactor will obtain ‘design approval’ from the Board, supported by the prescribed design, safety assessment and decommissioning information.
• For ‘imported designs’, the applicant must also provide the foreign regulator’s findings on design certification and, where operational abroad, overseas operating experience. Design approval is valid for 10 (ten) years or until commencement of construction, whichever is earlier, and is renewable.

Operation, periodic review and life extension

• For operation, the applicant will submit commissioning results, the final safety analysis report, operating, ageing management and emergency preparedness documentation and evidence of qualified personnel.
• Renewal of the safety authorisation for operation requires a periodic safety review covering current safety requirements, ageing, safety performance and radiological impact.
• Operation beyond design life requires a referral from the Central Government seeking the Board’s written confirmation of safe operability for the proposed extension period, based on its review and relevant inspections.

Other nuclear facilities, plants and mines

• Other specified nuclear facilities and plants, including fuel fabrication and storage facilities, spent-fuel storage facilities, ore-processing plants and radioactive waste management facilities, are subject to stage-wise safety authorisation. The requirements for nuclear power plants apply mutatis mutandis, commensurate with the radiological hazard potential.
• For uranium and thorium mines, safety authorisation is required for working of the mine and its closure or decommissioning. The Board’s authorisation is confined to radiological safety, while occupational safety requirements under the Occupational Safety Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 remain enforceable by the Directorate General of Mines Safety.

Radiation facilities

• The Draft Regulations also apply to a wide range of radiation facilities used in healthcare, industry, food irradiation, research and education.
• For radiation facilities, the Draft Regulations provide for multiple approvals, including ‘Type Approval’ for the design of sealed sources and radiation generating equipment, ‘Site and Layout Approval’, ‘Procurement Approval’ prior to acquisition of the source, and ‘Safety Authorisation for Commissioning’, ‘Operation and Decommissioning’, with approval also required for transfer of disused sealed sources.
• Facilities engaged in radiation processing of food must also comply with prescribed absorbed-dose limits and dosimetry requirements, as well as Food Safety and Standards Authority of India requirements.

Radioactive waste, trade and transport

• A waste authorisation is required from the Board for storage, transfer and disposal of radioactive waste. Applications may be made together with the safety authorisation for the relevant facility or activity.
• Import, export and domestic trade of radiation sources are subject to safety authorisation. Imported sealed sources must include arrangements for repatriation.
• For transport of radiation sources, shipment approval and approval or acceptance of the package design together constitute safety authorisation for transport.

Application and safety review

• Applications may be made for an individual stage or as a composite safety authorisation.
• Before submission, the applicant will undertake an independent review and verification of its safety assessment, by an independent third party or by an internal team not involved in preparing the assessment.

Validity, renewal and transfer

• Unless otherwise specified, safety authorisation is valid for 10 (ten) years and cannot extend beyond the underlying licence period where a licence is required. Approvals and waste authorisations will be valid for the period specified by the Board.
• Safety authorisation, waste authorisation and approvals cannot be transferred without the Board’s prior permission and, where a licence is required, only after the licence has been transferred, upon which all terms, conditions, obligations and safety responsibilities vest in the transferee.
• The Board may modify, suspend or cancel a safety authorisation on account of misrepresentation or suppression of a material fact or where the holder has been convicted of an offence under the Act.

Continuing safety responsibility and regulatory oversight

• The Draft Regulations place prime responsibility for safety on the holder of the safety authorisation throughout the lifetime of the facility, plant, activity or mine. This responsibility cannot be delegated.
• Holders must comply with applicable radiation protection, emergency preparedness, quality assurance, incident reporting, record-keeping and waste-management requirements, and must designate a Radiological Safety Officer certified by the Board.

Conclusion

The Draft Regulations have implications beyond nuclear power plant developers and apply to a wider range of nuclear facilities, mines, healthcare and industrial radiation facilities, research institutions and entities involved in radioactive waste, trade and transport. For facilities and activities requiring a licence under the Act and the Draft Rules, safety authorisation from the Board constitutes an additional separate regulatory requirement applying at successive stages from siting through decommissioning.

The Draft Regulations also contemplate continuing regulatory oversight after safety authorisation is granted, including inspections, periodic safety review, regulatory hold points and renewal requirements. Read together with the Draft Rules, the proposed framework establishes licensing and safety authorisation as distinct but interlinked elements of the regulatory regime, with safety responsibility and Board oversight continuing throughout the lifecycle of a nuclear facility or regulated activity.

This Prism has been prepared by:

Vishnu Sudarsan Partner

Sugandha Somani Gopal Partner

Asmita Maan Senior Associate

S. Santosh Associate

For more details, please contact km@jsalaw.com.