The Hindu Business Line : Obama, supporter of Indo-US nuke deal: Saran

Coming closer: (From left) The Special Envoy to the Prime Minister of India, Mr Shyam Saran, the Tata Consulting Engineers Chairman, Mr Syamal Gupta, and Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Dr Dale E. Klein, at a conference on Indo-US Cooperation in Nuclear Energy: The Path Forward, in the Capital on Friday.

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Nov 14 The US President-elect, Mr Barack Obama, is a keen supporter of the civil nuclear agreement with India, Mr Shyam Saran, Special Envoy to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, said here on Friday.

“The President-elect looks upon this agreement as a very important step in strengthening the relationship between India and the US,” Mr Saran said at a conference on ‘Indo-US Co-operation in Nuclear Energy: The Path Forward’, organised by the CII here.

The Indo-US nuclear deal, signed on October 10, ended India’s three-decade isolation and allows the US companies such as General Electric and Westinghouse to sell atomic reactors and fuel to India.

Buttressing the view, Dr Dale Klein, Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said the change in the (US) Government won’t affect the nuclear accord. He also said that the US suppliers want India to sign a treaty that would help shield them from liability in the event of a nuclear accident at the plants they expect to help build.

“The US industry would like to see India become a part of that convention,” he said. The liability treaty is known as the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage and makes plant operators (NPCIL in India’s case) responsible for damages from any accident and shields suppliers from liability.

New section 123

“Our national governments are continuing the process of putting into place the new Section 123 US-India Agreement for Civil Nuclear Cooperation. In the meantime, both the US and India are anticipating and preparing for new business development and trade in the nuclear industry,” Dr Klein said. “The US can help India by sharing its technology and expertise in the civil nuclear field, both on the academic as well as the business levels,” he said, adding that “the Indo-US deal had opened the doors for greater cooperation.”

Speaking at the event, the United States Ambassador to India, Mr David Mulford, said: “India needs a public-private civilian nuclear strategy that establishes sound, transparent policies that lay the groundwork for large scale and competitive electricity production.”

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