Energy, Risk and Governance: The Case of Nuclear Energy in India

This book is about how risk, energy and governance are intertwined in the development of the nuclear industry in India and its relationship with the Indian public. It provides a rare insider-view of how the nuclear establishment thinks about risk and contrasts that with public understandings of nuclear risk. Through that, the book presents a more nuanced picture of why nuclear energy is considered a rational choice in spite of the risks; the ambiguities in both expert and public risk perceptions; and the internal reflexivities that have emerged within the nuclear establishment as a result of the Fukushima-Daiichi disaster which are not displayed in the public discourse. The insights in this book are not unique to India and similar observations can easily be made in the global nuclear industry. Reflecting on what this means for risk governance in practice, the book proposes a toolkit that practitioners in the nuclear industry can use in public engagement, risk communication and deliberation at various stages of decision-making