India on Saturday announced plans to amend its nuclear liability law and set up a nuclear energy mission, a move that came ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's likely visit to the United States.
The government has finalised the much-awaited rules of implementation of the nuclear liability law, a move that could pave way for the expansion of the atomic power sector by procuring equipment from foreign suppliers. "A PMO committee has approved the rules of implementation of the civil nuclear liability law. We will notify the rules within a month," V Narayanasamy said. The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage law was passed by Parliament last year.
A nuclear liability regime would ensure compensation to the public in the event of an accident.
Voicing "serious concern" over India's nuclear liability law, the United States on Friday said New Delhi could seek International Atomic Energy Agency's help in evaluating its legislation's compliance with the Convention on Supplemental Compensation.
US Vice President JD Vance called on India to drop non-tariff barriers, give greater access to its markets and buy more American energy products and military hardware. Vance, in a speech in Jaipur, highlighted the need for a stronger US-India partnership for a prosperous and peaceful 21st century. He emphasized the importance of working together to address global challenges and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing him as a "special person." Vance also urged India to provide greater market access to American products and buy more defense platforms and energy from the US. He suggested that India consider dropping some of the non-tariff barriers for American access to the Indian market and highlighted the benefits of closer India-US defense collaboration, advocating for New Delhi to procure more military hardware from the US. He cited the example of American fifth-generation F-35s, arguing they would give the Indian Air Force the ability to defend its airspace and protect its people like never before. Vance also welcomed the Modi government's budget announcement to amend India's civil nuclear liability laws, paving the way for US producers to export small modular reactors and build larger US-designed reactors in India. He emphasized the importance of energy security for India's AI ambitions, stating "there is no AI future without energy security and energy dominance." Vance's visit comes amid growing global concerns over the US's tariff war.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump have vowed to move forward with plans to work together to build US-designed nuclear reactors in India. The decision was made during their meeting at the White House, where they also agreed to significantly expand energy cooperation. The move comes after India announced plans to amend its nuclear liability law and the Atomic Energy Act, which had previously been obstacles to the implementation of the US-India civil nuclear deal.
It would be the prime minister's first bilateral visit to the US after Trump became president for a second term.
'If the BJP detoxifies the nuclear liability law, it will bring economic, environmental and, most of all, strategic benefits.' 'Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that this Budget promise is met soon -- ideally, before Mr Modi heads to his first meeting with Trump 2.0,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
From bhikshus of Ashokan 3rd century BC and medieval Sufis to Oxfam, Omidyar and Soros now, non-State actors have any real power only when they work in conjunction with a real State, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
What is in store for the Koodankulam nuclear power plants, asks S P Udayakumar.
'Why should we disclose classified information to satisfy those who doubt our Hydrogen Bomb capability?'
Although the Nuclear Liability Law passed by Parliament has left the India-United States nuclear agreement in limbo, both countries at the end of their Strategic Dialogue in Washington pointed to the agreement between Westinghouse and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India as a tangible step toward ultimate implementation of the agreement.
A top Obama administration official on Thursday said that though some progress is being made in the implementation of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, it is going to be a long and tough road to work through the issues related to India's nuclear liability law.
The Barack Obama administration is resigned to the reality that the Manmohan Singh government has little chance of salvaging the deal from the limbo it is in now and providing some leeway on the Nuclear Liability Law, experts tell Aziz Haniffa
Amidst growing concern in the United States Congress that the India-US nuclear deal is in limbo, the Barack Obama administration last week attempted, albeit weakly, to assuage the angst that Washington has been taken for a ride by New Delhi. Parliament's nuclear liability law has left American companies hanging after all of the capital they extended in pushing the accord through both the US Senate and the House of Representatives.
With the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal in a limbo in the wake of the Indian Parliament's nuclear liability law, the Barack Obama administration has asserted that complete implementation of the accord is imperative for the full transformation of the relationship.
The ranking Republican on the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Richard Lugar, has bemoaned the fact that more than three years after the historic US-India civilian nuclear deal was signed, it still remains in limbo sans any implementation.
The pacts for units III and IV of the Koondakulam nuclear plant are "almost initialled" and would have been signed last December but for the protests, Russian Ambassador Alexander Kadakain said on Monday and maintained that the units don't fall under the recent nuclear liability law.
India on Thursday firmly ruled out any change in the civil nuclear liability law notwithstanding repeated concerns expressed by countries exporting atomic equipments over compensation claim in the event of an accident.
Russia's global nuclear project company Atomstroyexport, which is building two 1000 MW reactors in Kudankulam, said the "complex issues" need to be addressed before firming up contracts for setting up two more atomic power plants.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will raise with President Barack Obama next month concerns over the recent decisions by the United States on visa rules and outsourcing amid hopes that these would not affect the rapidly growing bilateral ties.
Paving the way for early enactment of nuclear liability law, a Parliamentary Committee on Wednesday presented its report that addresses major concerns of the Bharatiya Janata Party as it recommended provision for "clear-cut" accountability of suppliers for any mishap involving an atomic plant.
Under a 2010 nuclear liability law, nuclear equipment suppliers are liable for damages from an accident, which companies say is a sharp deviation from international norms
US urges New Delhi to align its nuclear liability law with the international convention
Ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the United States, a controversy has broken out over the nuclear liability law with reports suggesting that an agreement will be signed which may not be in tune with the law.
'Reviving the nuclear deal was crucial before the Obama visit... It was time for the BJP to admit that it was wrong, and redo the civil nuclear liability laws.'
In first high-level engagement between India and Russia after National Democratic Alliance government came to power, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry O Rogozin on Wednesday held extensive talks on crucial bilateral issues including trade and energy security.
The agreement was reached in intensive negotiations between contact groups that Obama and Modi had set up in September.
'If we could break through this symbolic barrier of sanctions and a dysfunctional relationship, we could do anything.'
'At a time when the entire India-US relationship needs to be defined by President Trump and Prime Minister Modi, a fresh look at the liability issue has become urgent,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, former Governor for India at the IAEA.
'When you think back to the promises made 10 years ago, not a single one of those had panned out to date.'
Weeks after 'breakthrough', substantial work is yet to be done
Legal hitches appear to have cropped up in the plans to set up two new reactors in the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project and a commercial agreement on it is unlikely to be signed at the Annual Summit between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday.
India and the United States have reached the first commercial agreement on civilian nuclear power, five years after a landmark deal between the two countries was clinched.
'By his very presence in Delhi on Republic Day, Obama is revisiting the most defining relationship of the 20th century after a period of stagnation,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
On the final day of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US, that country on Tuesday extended its Defence Cooperation Agreement with India by another 10 years. The pact, which was to expire in June next year, will now be in force till 2025.
This would make India the world's second-biggest nuclear energy market after China
There are many reasons for Japan to turn a deaf ear to its anti-nuclear lobby and concentrate on its geo-strategic imperatives to sign the nuclear deal with India, says Debalina Ghoshal.
'The nuclear deal required Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to gamble the future of his government on a vision for the future of his nation.'
'I could see it not having any impact whatsoever,' says Stephen P Cohen on Obama's India visit.
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