The Hindu Business Line : India to sign global pact on nuclear liabilities soon: Shyam Saran

New Delhi, Jan. 8 India has initiated the process of signing an international convention on nuclear liability issues and the matter would be taken up by the Cabinet for a decision shortly.

“The issue of signing an international pact on nuclear liabilities is under consideration… The matter is to be taken up by the Cabinet shortly,” Mr Shyam Saran, Special Envoy to the Prime Minister, said at an Indo-US Economic summit here on Thursday. He, however, did not elaborate on the issue and did not give a time frame for the proposed move.

International nuclear firms, led by US companies, have been lobbying hard for India to adopt the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Convention of Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC).

The convention, among its provisions, places the onus of compensation in case of nuclear damage on the ‘Installation State’ (where the nuclear facilities are located), in this case India.

The CSC, seen as a step forward in the international nuclear liability regime embodied in the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage of 1963 and the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy of 1960, mandates the ‘Installation State’ to give 300 million SDRs (Special Drawing Rights, the unit of account defined by the International Monetary Fund) or a higher amount as compensation.

It also holds the operator of a nuclear installation liable for damage if adequately proven.

Speaking at the event, Mr Saran also said the Government hopes to scale up nuclear power capacity to 60,000 MW by the year 2030.

Private participation

On the issue of amending Atomic Energy Act of 1962 to enable private participation in the civil nuclear programme, Mr Saran said: “The Government doesn’t have a closed mind on private participation in the nuclear programme. But the Government is cautious about it, as it is a sensitive subject. It would take a while before allowing private participation.”

Mr Saran said that in the intervening period, the private sector can be successfully involved in the manufacture of plants and components that go into the nuclear power generation.

In this regard, there could be several works that can be bagged from state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) for component manufacturing. “Once the private players gain experience in the nuclear field, the Government may consider allowing them to establish nuclear plants of their own,” he added.

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