In the second part of a three-part series, Manoj Kumar and Lydia Powell, in an Observer Research Foundation study, discuss at length the various loopholes in the Nuclear Liability Bill, whose amended version was recently passed by the Lok Sabha.
In a significant message to the business lobby in Washington, the Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its nod to the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill.The move will encourage the nuclear power plant manufacturing companies, which have been eyeing the Rs 60,000-crore plus market in India, for the next 5-10 years. According to sources, the government will fix the civil liability at approximately Rs 2,400 crore for the manufacturers.
Pitching for enactment of a law to fix civil damages caused by nuclear accidents, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Srikumar Banerjee said neither the Indian Environmental Protection Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991, nor the Indian Atomic Energy Act had provisions for damages caused due to war or radioactivity.
One of the biggest myths being propagated is that nuclear cooperation with the US is the answer to India's energy crisis, which in any case would not see the light of the day before 2016. Also Indian Parliament and citizens have been kept in dark about the cost of electricity from foreign-built nuclear power reactors.
Former Atomic Energy Regulatory Board chairman Dr A Gopalakrishnan makes a case against the nuclear liability bill.
Ending months of wrangling between treasury benches and the opposition, the Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the civil nuclear liability bill after government dropped the contentious provision of 'intent' in the case of accident adopting a Bharatiya Janata Party amendment, paving the way for nuclear commerce with the world.
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the Bhopal tragedy have brought back into focus the issue of industrial accidents, contractual liabilities and questions of operator liability, notes Manoj Kumar and Lydia Powell in an Observer Research Foundation study, which will be published in a three-part series. Here goes the first part:
The government is understood to be considering changes in the nuclear liability bill, including a proposal to drop a crucial clause that would compel a foreign nuclear supplier to provide for compensation in case of accidents due to wilful action or gross negligence.
While the cap on liability is lower than in several other countries, few producers, including those in India, will supply nuclear power equipment without such a bill -- raising the caps is an obvious solution.
Shimla police have registered an FIR against former city SSP Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi for allegedly misappropriating Rs 2.35 lakh from a government fund and defrauding a police constable. The constable claimed he was not reimbursed for Rs 1.87 lakh spent from his personal account on official duties, despite signing a payment voucher.
The Parliamentary committee examining the controversial nuclear liability bill is expediting work to enable submission of its report to the Rajya Sabha during the monsoon session that begins on July 26.
While terming the Nuclear Liability Bill as beneficial for the country's atomic power generation, the Samajwadi Party on Wednesday said it wanted the bill to be vetted by a select committee of all parties before it is introduced in Parliament as it has several loopholes.
Bowing to pressure from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left parties, government on Friday dropped a controversial addition in the civil nuclear liability bill which the Opposition said diluted the liability of suppliers for accidents caused by their negligence.
The United States has said that India is committed to the Nuclear Liabilities Bill and it was up to the United Progressive Alliance government to figure out how to move forward in the wake of the Opposition's objections to some aspects of the controversial legislation.The stalled bill, whose passage in Parliament is a must, is a crucial step for the full implementation of the historic Indo-US civil nuclear deal.
The US said on Wednesday that the Indian Parliament needed to act upon the "critical" nuclear liability bill to take forward the Indo-American nuclear deal, which had reached "almost the finishing line".
"India has ratified Radiation Protection Convention, 1960 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) but its provisions have not been complied with. It is yet to ratify ILO's Occupational Cancer Convention, 1974 which is concerning Prevention and Control of Occupational Hazards caused by Carcinogenic Substances.
Paving the way for India to have nuclear commerce with the world, Parliament on Monday adopted a nuclear liability bill with the government insisting that the compensation package for victims matches that of the United States and it was still open to accommodate some suggestions.
India's Civil Nuclear Liability Bill will not have an immediate adverse impact on Indo-Russian cooperation in atomic power generation, but Russian contractors would not like to see safety issues raise their project costs. Director for the Centre of Energy and Security Studies and Editor-in-Chief of the Nuclear Club magazine Anton Khlopkov said the legislation passed by the Indian Parliament "is raising concerns in Russia".
After agreeing with the Congress on changes in the Nuclear Liability Bill, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday opposed an amendment carried out in the final report of the Standing Committee, saying it dilutes provisions relating to supplier's obligations in case of an accident. The party has made it clear that if the government does not drop its proposed amendment, which it considers as harmful, it would itself move an amendment.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's meeting with BJP top brass L K Advani, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, her counterpart in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley on Tuesday ended on a positive note with both sides reaching a consensus on most issues in the draft bill.The Parliamentary Standing Committee finalised its report on Nuclear Liability Bill. The Compensation cap raised from Rs 500 crore to Rs 1,500 crore.
The government refuted the charge that the Nuclear Liability Bill was being brought under foreign pressure and said it is willing to refer the measure to a Parliamentary Standing Committee for scrutiny on Thursday.
The operator's liability in the case of an incident is limited to 3,000 crore for reactors with thermal power above 3,600 Megawatt; 1,500 crore for reactors with thermal power between 1,500 Mw and 3,600 Mw; 750 crore for reactors with thermal power between 750 Mw and 1,500 Mw; 300 crore for reactors with thermal power between 150 Mw and 750 Mw; and 100 crore for reactors having thermal power up to 150 Mw, fuel cycle facilities other than spent fuel reprocessing plants and transportation of nuclear materials.
The clause 17 (b) proposes that the operator would have legal recourse if a nuclear accident results from the "willful act or gross negligence on the part of the supplier of the material, equipment or services, or of his employee."
After introducing the controversial nuclear liability bill in the Lok Sabha amid opposition protests, the government on Friday said it hopes to bring it for consideration in the Monsoon session of Parliament.
The Civil Nuclear Liability Bill is likely to come up for consideration in Parliament on Wednesday
Former Atomic Energy Commission Chairman P K Iyengar on Wednesday raised a red flag over certain provisions of the nuclear liability bill, including keeping civil courts off limits in case of a nuclear accident.
The assessee must explain the nature and source of jewellery and support the explanation with evidence, tax experts say.
Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology T Subbirami Reddy on Friday voiced confidence that the report on the nuclear liability bill will be tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, despite differences among members.
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) told Business Standard that National Security Advisor (NSA) Shiv Shankar Menon will meet top leaders of the BJP and the CPI(M) to explain the salient features of the Bill.
The much-debated Nuclear Liability Bill, crucial for operationalising the India-US civil nuclear deal, would be tabled in the Rajya Sabha on March 15, Minister of State for Atomic Energy Prithviraj Chavan has said.
The Nuclear Liability Bill will be taken up in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the day Parliament will resume after a three-day recess. Government sources said that the bill, to which the Union Cabinet had on Friday approved 18 changes as per the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Science and Technology, would be brought in the Lower House. The changes included a three-fold hike in the liability from Rs 500 crore to Rs 1,500 crore.
As part of government's efforts to reach out to the Bharatiya Janata Party over the nuclear liability bill, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon met senior leaders of the main opposition party on Wednesday, to allay their apprehensions but failed to convince them.
The Supreme Court has issued a limited notice to the Centre, seeking clarification on whether courts can grant fair compensation under the SHANTI Act in nuclear accidents, despite liability caps. The court also questioned potential conflicts of interest in appointing members to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Body under the Act, following a plea challenging the law's constitutionality.
Merchants will be subject to an 18 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for UPI payments exceeding Rs 2,000, but can mitigate this burden by claiming input tax credit (ITC), according to tax experts.
Can your money be protected against online frauds like hacking, digital arrests, etc?
Tax experts clarify that merchants will pay 18% GST on Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for UPI payments exceeding Rs 2,000, effective October 15. However, registered merchants can claim Input Tax Credit (ITC), mitigating the tax burden. This move is expected to generate significant GST revenue for the exchequer while funding payment infrastructure.
The Rs 500 crore cap in the event of an accident, proposed in the controversial nuclear liability bill, could be raised as part of government's efforts to address concerns of the opposition over the issue. Indications to this effect were given by government officials at a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology and Environment on Tuesady.
Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan, who is in-charge of Department of Atomic Energy, said the country lacks a law under which compensation could be awarded in the case of a nuclear accident.
United States has said it is looking at India to see what changes can be made in certain provisions in the Nuclear Liability Bill, which was recently passed by the Parliament.
The one message that the Congress party wants the Prime Minister's Office to take heed of, following the tumultuous first phase of this year's Budget session, is that the PMO should be more helpful in facilitating political management for the party.Despite the government bending over backwards to explain that the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages bill was a mandatory legislation -- no matter which country India wanted to engage with in is unconvinced.
