US seeks role in India’s nuclear energy sector on liability law change

The US is willing to participate in India’s nuclear energy sector days after the nation’s Parliament passed a law limiting liability and allowing private investors to enter the industry.

“The United States stands ready to undertake joint innovation and R&D in the energy sector,” the US embassy posted on social media platform X Monday.

Last week, the Indian Parliament abolished the decades-old state monopoly in the nuclear power generation sector and made sweeping changes to the country’s liability provisions that had spooked investors. The move is expected to attract about $214 billion in investments, with proposals from the Adani Group under consideration, Bloomberg News reported last week.


A 2008 deal between India and the US reversed a decades-old global freeze on atomic supplies to New Delhi, giving the South Asian nation legal access to the materials and technology needed to expand its nuclear program. However, a controversial liability law introduced in 2010 exposed suppliers to damage claims in the event of a incident, which kept investors away hampering expansion of the sector until now.

The new law now spares suppliers entirely from nuclear liability and eases terms for the operators. It caps liability based on reactor size and allows the government to set up a fund to cover claims exceeding those limits.

Fresh investment is expected to boost the underperforming industry and support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of converting India’s status to a developed nation by 2047.