Ever since the enactment of the patent law in India, one thing has remained at the forefront—the concern for national security. Section 4 of the Indian Patents Act, 1970, best highlighted this concern, strictly prohibiting the patenting of inventions in the field of atomic energy. For several years, the absolute prohibition in the Act reflected the government’s nuclear technological monopoly and the sensitivity surrounding atomic energy. Yet, in tune with India’s evolving clean-energy strategy, the policy regime is witnessing a paradigm shift.
Recent policy discussions and proposed legislative frameworks—often collectively referred to in policy literature as the “Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Act, 2025” (SHANTI Act)— indicate a possible transition away from an absolute prohibition and embracing conditional patenting. This shift highlights a transitional phase that seeks to balance innovation with sovereign control.
Section 4 of the Indian Patents Act, 1970: A Security-Driven Exclusion
Section 4 of the Indian Patents Act, 1970 states that no patent shall be granted in respect of an invention relating to atomic energy falling within sub-section (1) of section 20 of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962. The provision is narrowly worded but expansive in its exclusionary effect on the patent ecosystem, creating a statutory blanket bar independent of novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability.
Section 20(1) of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 provides as follows:
As from the commencement of this Act, no patent shall be granted for inventions which, in the opinion of the Central Government, are useful for or relate to—
- the production, control, use or disposal of atomic energy;
- the prospecting, mining, extraction, production, physical or chemical treatment of prescribed substances;
- the fabrication, enrichment, canning or use of any prescribed substance or radioactive substance; or
- the ensuring of safety in atomic energy operations.
The rigidity under Section 4 is reinforced by Section 65 of the Indian Patents Act, 1970, which empowers the Central Government to revoke a granted patent if it is subsequently found to relate to atomic energy contrary to Section 20 of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.
The SHANTI Act, 2025: Re-imagining India’s Nuclear Legal Architecture
Proposed policy frameworks commonly referred to as the SHANTI Act, 2025, envisage a transformative shift in India’s nuclear governance architecture. These proposals contemplate rationalising the existing legal regime governing nuclear energy, including the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.
The core objectives articulated in these policy proposals include:
- Permitting limited private participation in peaceful nuclear activities; and
- Streamlining regulation to promote clean-energy innovation in India.
Rather than diluting State control, the proposed framework seeks to rebalance it. Sensitive and strategic areas remain firmly under sovereign control, while non-strategic civilian applications are envisaged to experience calibrated liberalisation.
Conditional Patentability Under the Proposed SHANTI Framework
In the context of patent law, the most significant proposed change is the introduction of a conditional patentability framework for inventions relating to the peaceful use of nuclear energy and radiation, marking a departure from the absolute prohibition under Section 4 of the Patents Act.
This liberalisation is, however, subject to stringent conditions and regulatory oversight:
- Limitation to Peaceful Use – Applications are confined to civilian domains such as medicine, agriculture, waste treatment, water purification, and clean power generation.
- Strategic and Sensitive Exclusions – Technologies with defence, weapons, or strategic implications remain excluded.
- Mandatory Government Vetting – All patent applications involving nuclear-related subject matter are envisaged to be referred by the Controller General of Patents to the Central Government, which may inspect, impose conditions, or direct refusal.
- Pre-Disclosure Obligations – Inventors would be required to notify the Central Government prior to disclosure to third parties, ensuring that sensitive information remains subject to regulatory scrutiny.
This represents a shift from a blanket prohibition to a gatekeeper model, where innovation is permitted within clearly demarcated and supervised boundaries.
Innovation Meets Regulation: Why This Shift Matters
Modern nuclear technology today extends well beyond power reactors. It plays a crucial role in cancer diagnostics and radiotherapy, food irradiation and preservation, water desalination, agricultural productivity, and climate-resilient clean-energy systems
A continued absolute patent bar in these domains risks discouraging private R&D, foreign collaboration, and indigenous innovation. Conditional patent protection, under government oversight, is therefore positioned as a mechanism to incentivise investment while preserving State primacy over strategic assets.
Implications for Patent Drafting and Prosecution Strategy
This evolving policy landscape necessitates a fundamental shift in drafting and prosecution strategy. The earlier approach—minimising or obscuring nuclear context to avoid Section 4 may prove counterproductive
Instead, patent specifications should emphasise technical completeness and accuracy, with explicit identification of civilian and peaceful applications. Where technologies have dual-use potential, such applicability should be transparently disclosed. Practitioners must integrate sensitivity assessment at the invention-disclosure stage to ensure early identification of nuclear linkages and compliance with proposed pre-disclosure obligations. Drafting strategies should consciously highlight design features that limit misuse and demonstrate suitability for safeguarded, non-strategic deployment.
Conclusion: A Calibrated Transition, Not a Retreat
The conceptual journey from Section 4 of the Indian Patents Act to a proposed conditional patentability framework under the SHANTI model reflects India’s transition from a purely security-centric posture to a security-plus-innovation paradigm. While the earlier regime prioritised exclusion to protect sovereignty, the emerging approach favours regulated inclusion to support sustainable growth.
The proposed SHANTI framework does not dilute national security; it refines it. By permitting patent protection for peaceful nuclear inventions under strict governmental oversight, India signals a calibrated embrace of clean-energy innovation without compromising strategic autonomy. For inventors, investors, and policymakers alike, this marks a foundational shift—from prohibition to permission, from monopoly to managed participation, and from secrecy to supervised innovation