The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the 2025 Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill, which aims to open up the civil nuclear sector to private operators.

The bill was passed despite demands by several Opposition parties to refer the proposed legislation to a parliamentary panel, The Hindu reported.

The bill will need to be cleared by the Rajya Sabha before it is sent for presidential assent.

The draft legislation proposes to grant licenses to private companies, joint ventures and government companies to construct, own, operate or decommission nuclear power plants or reactors, the Hindustan Times reported.

Other proposed provisions included the removal of a clause in the 2010 Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act that allows the operator of a nuclear power plant to file legal proceedings against suppliers if their equipment was found to have been in an accident.

In 2008, the Bharatiya Janata Party had moved a no-confidence motion against the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance government citing, among other things, the absence of such a provision.

However, after the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act was passed in 2010, this provision was believed to be a reason for the lack of foreign participation in the country’s nuclear sector despite the Indo-US nuclear deal.

The bill passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday also introduces...

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