The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act 2010

In one line

Strict liability on the operator with no proof of fault, four defences, a cap in rupees, the Central Government above the cap, and insurance the operator must carry before he starts.

In the wording a student can write in an exam: section 4(4) provides that the liability of the operator of the nuclear installation shall be strict and shall be based on the principle of no-fault liability; section 6(2) fixes the operator's liability for each nuclear incident at rupees one thousand five hundred crores for nuclear reactors of thermal power of ten megawatts or above, rupees three hundred crores for spent fuel reprocessing plants, and rupees one hundred crores for research reactors below ten megawatts, other fuel cycle facilities and transportation of nuclear materials; section 6(1) caps the total for each incident at the rupee equivalent of three hundred million Special Drawing Rights; and section 7 makes the Central Government liable above the operator's amount, for an incident in an installation it owns, and for damage from the two excepted causes.

A currency note, as of September 2026. The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Act, 2025 (Act No. 39 of 2025, the SHANTI Act) was enacted in December 2025 but is not yet in force as of September 2026; on commencement its section 91 repeals this Act and the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, so the sections in this chapter are the law until then. The new Act keeps the structure and changes the figures and the reach. Section 12 keeps the two exonerating causes, the exclusions for the installation, property on the site and the means of transport, and the claimant's own negligence. Section 13 keeps the incident cap of three hundred million Special Drawing Rights and lets the Central Government seek funds under the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage. Section 14 keeps the Central Government liable above the operator's cap, for its own installations and for the excepted causes, and lets it establish a Nuclear Liability Fund. The Second Schedule replaces the single figure of 1,500 crore rupees for reactors of ten megawatts thermal or above with caps graded by thermal power, from 100 crore rupees up to 150 megawatts to 3,000 crore rupees above 3,600 megawatts. And because the operator is the licensee (section 2(28)) and a licence may go to a company other than a Government company (section 3(1)), a private operator becomes possible.

Where the Act applies

Section 1(2) and (3). To the whole of India, and to nuclear damage suffered in or over the maritime areas beyond the territorial waters, in or over the exclusive economic zone, on board or by a ship or an aircraft registered in India, and on or by an artificial island, installation or structure under the jurisdiction of India.