The Atomic Energy Act, 1962 (Act No. 33 of 1962) is a central Act of Parliament that provides the legal framework for the development, control, and use of atomic energy for the welfare of the people of India and for other peaceful purposes. It was enacted in the Thirteenth Year of the Republic of India and came into force on September 21, 1962. This Act replaced the earlier Atomic Energy Act, 1948, to focus on the peaceful use of nuclear energy and establish safety standards for radioactive substances.
The Act grants the Central Government extensive powers under Section 3 to produce, develop, use, and dispose of atomic energy and to manufacture or otherwise produce any prescribed substance or radioactive substance. Key provisions include the regulation and control of the discovery and disposal of minerals like thorium and uranium, and control over the production and use of atomic energy. Section 16 and Section 17 specifically refer to control over radioactive substances and special provisions for safety. The Act also restricts the granting of patents for inventions related to the production, control, or use of atomic energy under Section 20.
The Act is intrinsically connected to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), which was constituted on November 15, 1983, to perform safety and regulatory functions and enforce the provisions of the Act. The AERB's jurisdiction is also derived from the Environment Protection Act, 1986. A significant recent change was the Atomic Energy (Amendment) Act, 2015 (Act No. 5 of 2016), which amended Section 2 to broaden the definition of a "Government company" and introduced Section 14(1A) to restrict the grant of licenses for certain activities to only a Department of the Central Government, an established authority/corporation, or a Government company. This amendment also stipulated that a license granted to a Government company would be cancelled if it ceased to be one, with all assets vesting in the Central Government.