Understanding SHANTI Act, 2025 – Analysis for patent applicants

With the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Act, 2025[1] (‘SHANTI Act’) having come into effect on 21 December 2025, India has, to some extent, opened the gates to patenting of innovation in the nuclear energy sector. The SHANTI Act repeals the Atomic Energy Act of 1962 (‘AEA’). This change in nuclear energy governance framework supports India’s long-term objective of achieving nuclear energy capacity of 100 gigawatt by 2047, which at present stands at 8.78 gigawatts[2].

Given that patent protection drives innovation, economic growth, and technological advancement in any given sector, the SHANTI Act- by allowing, albeit conditionally, patenting of inventions pertaining to nuclear energy and radiation, comes as an encouragement to innovators and investors in the nuclear energy sector. 

Background

Prior to the enactment of the SHANTI Act, Section 4 of The Patents Act, 1970 (‘Patents Act’), imposed an absolute prohibition on patenting of invention relating to atomic energy falling within Section 20(1) of the AEA. Section 4 read with Section 20(1) of the AEA stated that the following inventions were non-patentable: 

‘inventions which in the opinion of the Central Government are useful for or relate to the production, control, use or disposal of atomic energy or the prospecting, mining, extraction, production, physical and chemical treatment, fabrication, enrichment, canning or use of any prescribed substance or radioactive substance or the ensuring of safety in atomic energy operations,’ 

For patent applicants in the biotechnology sector, this implied that inventions such as radioimmunotherapy, radioimmunoassay, radiation‑based sterilization, nuclear imaging devices, etc. risked falling within the ambit of Section 4 of the Patent Act and being referred by the Controller, at the Indian Patent office, to the Department of Atomic Energy (‘DAE’) for final decision on allowability (to meet the statutory mandate as per Section 20(6) of the AEA Act). This, inevitably, slowed the patent process for such applications, as they were required to await the DAE’s directions. Of note, in the year 2024-2025, 181 patent applications were referred to Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) out of which only 19 applications were found to be related to Atomic Energy (as per IPO’s Annual report of 2024-2025).

Overlap of Patents Act and the SHANTI Act

Now that the AEA has been repealed, Section 4 of the Patent Act has been amended (via. The Third schedule, SHANTI Act) to incorporate the provisions of Section 38 of the SHANTI Act. Section 4 of the Patent Act, as amended, now reads:

‘Inventions relating to nuclear energy.––The patents may be granted for inventions relating to nuclear energy subject to the provisions of this Act and Section 38 of the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Act, 2025.’

Section 38 of the SHANTI Act allows grant of patents for inventions that are for ‘peaceful uses of nuclear energy and radiation’. While the meaning and extent of the expression ‘peaceful uses’ is not defined in the Act, and is to be seen in due course, it is probable that inventions involving the use of radioactive substances and radiations in diagnostics, therapeutics, imaging, etc., may be considered as ‘peaceful use’ of nuclear energy and radiation. Having said that, Section 38 of the SHANTI Act also enlists certain activities that are deemed non-patentable. Activities under Section 3(5) of the SHANTI Act and those that are ‘sensitive in nature or having national security implications’ are excluded from patentability under Section 38 of the SHANTI Act. The activities enlisted under Section 3(5) of the SHANTI Act are ‘enrichment or isotopic separation of prescribed or radioactive substance; the management of spent fuel, including reprocessing, recycling, separation of radionuclides contained therein and management of high-level radioactive waste arising thereof; the production of heavy water and its upgradation by isotopic separation; and any other facilities or activities as may be notified by the Central Government.’ Regarding the question of what inventions may be considered as sensitive in nature, the same has been left open to the subjective opinion of the DAE. The SHANTI Act provides no clear definition as to what are the technologies that may be considered as ‘sensitive in nature’.

However, for inventions, where the Controller is uncertain if the invention falls under Section 3(5) of the SHANTI Act, or is sensitive in nature, having national security implications, the patent application may be referred to the DAE for directions as per Section 38(1) and (3) of SHANTI Act. Hence, for inventions where the Controller is unsure on whether the invention relates to peaceful use of nuclear energy, the Applicant may be required to await DAE’s approval. 

Further, the SHANTI Act imposes a duty of disclosure on inventors in the nuclear energy sector. Section 38(5) of the SHANTI Act states that: 

‘(5) Any person who has reason to believe that an invention made by him is related to nuclear energy shall communicate the Central Government of its nature and description before disclosing to any third party.’

Section 38(5) is consistent with the earlier treatment under Section 20(4) of the AEA. However, Section 38(5) imposes an additional duty on the Applicant that such communication be done before disclosing to any third party. This particular provision implies that an inventor in the nuclear energy sector, regardless of whether the invention is related to peaceful use of nuclear energy or not, has a duty of disclosure to the DAE prior to disclosing the invention details to any third party, irrespective of if the patent application has been filed. This may be seen as a deterrent in cases where inventors are pitching to potential investors. As now, in addition to filing a patent application, inventors in the nuclear energy sector must ensure to communicate the nature and description of the invention to the DAE prior to any disclosure to potential investors. 

When it comes to filing of patent applications outside India for nuclear energy inventions, Section 38(6) of the SHANTI Act prescribes that the Applicant meet the requirement of Section 39 of the Patent Act. Accordingly, applicants may consider obtaining a foreign filing permit for directly filing outside India or await the completion of the 6 weeks period after filing the patent application in India. Section 38(7) of the SHANTI Act gives the DAE the power to inspect pending patent applications before acceptance, and to direct the Controller to refuse patent applications based on subject matter under Section 38(1), similar to the earlier treatment under Section 20(3) of the AEA.

Conclusion

While the SHANTI Act has made way for various therapeutic and diagnostic technologies involving nuclear energy and radiation to progress the patent process undeterred within the blanket expression of ‘peaceful use’ of nuclear energy and radiation, the boundary on the excluded subject matter is yet to be determined. As of now, the rules and regulations for implementation of the provisions of the SHANTI Act are awaited and the timelines on when such rules and regulations can be expected are yet to be notified by the Government[3].

[The authors are Executive Director and Principal Associate in IPR practice at Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan Attorneys]

[1] The_SHANTI_Act_2025.pdf

[2] President Droupadi Murmu grants assent to SHANTI Bill passed by Parliament during Winter Session

[3] Parliament question: Implementation of Shanti Act