Crisis as catalyst: regulatory reforms in India’s nuclear safety governance

This study investigates the role of nuclear crises as catalysts of organizational change within India’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). Using mixed-method approach, the study assesses five drivers of regulatory change: Crisis Learning, International Nuclear Regulatory Regime, Operational Feedback from utilities, Strategic Considerations emanating from India’s nuclear weapons program, and Public Trust Dynamics. The findings indicate that institutional actors accord greater weight to IAEA standards and periodic utility feedback in shaping regulatory change, while post-incident committees restructuring and upgrades attest to the influence of crisis learning. However, organizational culture characterized by institutional values, professional attitudes, and procedural norms, mediates this effect and steers reforms toward targeted, procedure‑focused adjustments rather than comprehensive structural redesign to strengthen independence and transparency. This filtering narrows the limits of crisis learning as a driver of institutional change. These dynamics are particularly salient as India revises its nuclear regulatory framework to facilitate domestic and international private investment. By situating the AERB’s evolution within a multi-causal framework, this study demonstrates how external pressures, such as crises and public perception, subject the establishment to non-routine media and political scrutiny. These episodic forces are absorbed and moderated by deeply embedded, path-dependent organizational norms, resulting in incremental and tactical reforms rather than structural overhaul. An organizational culture premised on trust within constituent units would face increasing strain as participation of “outsider” actors grow. These insights carry implications for policymakers designing nuclear safety governance frameworks and for scholars examining the dynamics of regulation in high‑risk industries.