India, Dec. 16 -- The new nuclear energy Bill, presented in Parliament on Monday, comes at a time when India needs to deploy low-emission alternatives to coal-based thermal power. Growing power needs must be balanced against long-term climate goals. While renewable energy is very much a part of the arsenal, it faces specific hurdles at present in meeting the demand - riverine hydel projects in the upper reaches are exacting punishing ecological costs and solar generation still wrestles issues such as grind integration, land availability, scale, and lack of adequate storage options. Thus, nuclear energy generation, if managed with utmost care, can be a supplementary source of cleaner electricity.

Against this backdrop, the Safe Harnessing...