The SHANTI Act opens nuclear power to private companies
20 December 2025
The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act, 2025 was introduced on 15 December 2025, passed by the Lok Sabha on 17 December and the Rajya Sabha on 18 December, and received assent on 20 December. It creates a licensing regime under which private companies and joint ventures, if permitted by the government, may build, own and operate nuclear power plants and handle fuel fabrication, transport and storage. Commentators described it as a calibrated opening that keeps strategic control with the State, linked to the push for Bharat Small Modular Reactors.
Background. Until now, nuclear power was a government monopoly under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, run mainly by NPCIL. The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 had deterred foreign suppliers because of its supplier-liability clause. India's first nuclear plant was Tarapur (1969).
Why CLAT asks: Why private and foreign firms stayed away (the 2010 liability law) is the likely question.
Sources: King & Spalding: Does the SHANTI Act open the door to the private sector in nuclear power?; Manohar Parrikar IDSA Issue Brief (17 February 2026)
India launches E85 fuel, 85% ethanol
5 June 2026
On World Environment Day, 5 June 2026, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launched E85, petrol blended with 85% ethanol, at an Indian Oil outlet in New Delhi, priced about ₹20 a litre below regular E20 fuel and meant for flex-fuel vehicles. The rollout began at a few dozen public-sector pumps, with a goal of 500 outlets by December 2026 and about 5,000 by December 2027. India had reached 20% ethanol blending (E20) in 2025, five years ahead of the original target.
Background. The National Policy on Biofuels, 2018, amended in 2022, brought forward the E20 target from 2030 to 2025-26. Ethanol is made mainly from sugarcane molasses and grains such as maize and rice, which raises food-versus-fuel concerns.
Why CLAT asks: E20's early achievement and the food-versus-fuel debate are both likely questions.
Sources: Hydrocarbon Processing (Reuters): India launches gasoline blended with 85% ethanol at lower price (June 2026); Outlook Business: India launches high-ethanol blended E85 for flex-fuel vehicles
A record year for wind; over half of India's power capacity is non-fossil
6 April 2026
India added a record 6.05 GW of wind capacity in 2025-26, about 46% more than the year before and above the earlier record of 5.5 GW in 2016-17, taking cumulative wind capacity past 56 GW; Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra led. About 44 GW of solar was also added. By the end of 2025, non-fossil sources made up nearly 52% of India's 513 GW of installed power capacity; India had crossed the 50% mark in mid-2025, five years ahead of its 2030 target.
Background. India's updated climate pledge (NDC, 2022) aims for 50% of installed capacity from non-fossil sources and a 45% cut in the emissions intensity of GDP from 2005 levels by 2030, and net zero by 2070. The national target is 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030.
Why CLAT asks: The 2030 targets and the net-zero year (2070) are near-certain questions.
Sources: IANS: India adds highest-ever 6.05 GW wind energy in FY26 (6 April 2026); SolarQuarter: India achieves 50 percent non-fossil capacity milestone (February 2026)
Strategic petroleum reserves under strain, and ONGC plans another
July 2026
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz in the 2026 war put India's oil buffers in focus. Its strategic reserves, underground caverns run by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd, hold about 5.33 million tonnes, roughly nine and a half days of crude imports. In March 2026 the International Energy Agency ordered an emergency release of stocks by its members; India, not a member, relies on its own stocks and commercial inventories. In July 2026 ONGC announced plans for a new reserve of about 1.75 million tonnes at Mangaluru, while expansions at Chandikhol (Odisha) and Padur (Karnataka) are under way.
Background. Phase I reserves are at Visakhapatnam (2015), Mangaluru (2016) and Padur (2018). Part of the Mangaluru cavern is leased to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. IEA members must hold stocks equal to 90 days of net imports.
Why CLAT asks: Where the three caverns are, and how many days India's buffer covers compared with the IEA's 90, are tidy questions.
Sources: Khaleej Times (Reuters): India's ONGC plans to build 13-million-barrel national strategic oil reserve; ICPS: Reinforcing India's energy security: imperatives for India's strategic oil buffer
