Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Jitendra Singh on Thursday said the rules under the proposed SHANTI Act are expected to be rolled out in the coming weeks or months, while calling for stronger industry participation to accelerate India’s research, innovation, and nuclear energy ambitions. The minister made the remarks during the ‘First agreement signing with ETEs and first fund release to ETEs under RDI Scheme by Technology Development Board Second Level Fund Manager event’.

Speaking at the event, Singh said the government was shifting towards a model in which private industry would play a more active role in shaping research priorities and innovation funding. He stressed that the success of the SHANTI Act would depend significantly on industry engagement and collaboration. “The next milestone is going to be a few weeks or a few months later when the SHANTI Act rules are rolled out,” Singh said, adding that similar enthusiasm from industry stakeholders would be essential moving forward.

The SHANTI Act proposes major reforms aimed at expanding private and foreign participation in India’s nuclear power sector while also clarifying the liability framework for nuclear operators. The legislation is expected to support the implementation of the long-standing Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement and help India meet its ambitious target of producing 100 gigawatts of nuclear energy by 2047, compared to the current output of around 8 to 9 gigawatts. Singh said the reforms reflected the government’s broader push to modernise strategic sectors and encourage innovation-led growth.

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The minister also highlighted the importance of commercial viability in research and development initiatives, saying businesses would only remain invested if projects generated economic value. Singh noted that the government was moving away from older approaches where industry participation was sought only during the final stages of projects. Instead, policymakers are now involving businesses from the beginning to help shape innovation frameworks and identify practical applications for emerging technologies.

Drawing comparisons with reforms introduced in India’s space sector five years ago, Singh said similar “out-of-box decisions” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi had helped break longstanding barriers and unlock broader participation in strategic industries. He also pointed to progress under India’s National Quantum Mission, stating that the country had already achieved 1,000 kilometres of quantum-secure communication infrastructure in less than four years, reaching half of its eight-year target ahead of schedule. According to Singh, India now belongs to an “elite league” of nations actively developing quantum technologies.

At the same event, Principal Scientific Advisor Ajay Kumar Sood said the Technology Development Board had been designated as a focused research organisation and second-level fund manager under the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund framework. Sood revealed that five deep-tech startups had already been selected for funding under the initiative, with more proposals under review. He added that the Rs 1 lakh crore RDI corpus launched by the government in November 2025 had been operationalised within six months and was expected to generate nearly ten times more private-sector investment while strengthening India’s emerging quantum-safe ecosystem.

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