New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu has granted assent to SHANTI Bill, opening the nuclear sector for private participation. The bill was earlier passed by the Parliament in the just-concluded winter session.

The bill includes all laws dealing with civil nuclear energy

According to the official notification, the president granted her assent on Saturday. While the bill includes all laws dealing with civil nuclear sector , it has now been opened up for private players. It may be noted here that the new bill repealed the Act of 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, which have been proved to impede the progress of the civil nuclear sector in the country, news agency PTI reported

The new law will boost private sector

The law plays a crucial role in enabling private sector firms as well as joint ventures to own, build, own and operate nuclear power plants across the country after the clearance is issued by the Centre.

As per the new act, the mining of uranium and thorium, enrichment, isotopic separation, reprocessing of spent fuel, high-level radioactive waste management and heavy water production will remain under the Centre or Centre -owned organisations. The bill was cleared by the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

The bill faced Congress' ire

The Congress had earlier criticised the bill, observing that it should be renamed "Trump Act. It expressed concerns over "highly diluted liability regime” and the "vendor-driven” nature of the draft legislation. The Opposition party called the bill an attempt by the Centre to make peace with the US administration.

Earlier on Sunday, the president gave her assent to the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill. The bill will replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Under this act, the government will provide 125 days of guaranteed wage employment to labourers in rural areas of the country.