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.
Getting the requisite numbers to pass the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010 in the Lok Sabha may be the least of the United Progressive Alliance's problems. Lawyers and legal experts, including those who support the legislation, say there are many instances of poor drafting and anomalies that have the potential to generate more controversy if the Bill is passed in its current form.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left parties have already indicated opposition to the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill that is key to operationalise the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal. The Bill pegs the maximum amount of liability in case of each nuclear accident at Rs 300 crore to be paid by the operator of the nuclear plant.
There's far too much to be said against Nuclear Liability Bill
The passing of the nuclear liability bill will be a political and diplomatic victory for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a time when he is being seen as getting weaker and his government is drifting on all major national challenges like price rise, Kashmir and Naxalism.
It is day 5 of the Budget session of Parliament on Tuesday and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to reply on Presidential speech in Lok Sabha.
In this third and concluding part of an ongoing series, Manoj Kumar and Lydia Powell, in an Oriental Research Foundation study, highlight some national nuclear liability frameworks.
about the recent remarks by Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg assigning a major role for China in South Asia and saying that India has a role to play in East Asia, National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon said that in today's globalised world, this was no big deal
The government rejected Left parties' charge that the Nuclear Liability Bill was designed to benefit American equipment suppliers and dismissed as unnecessary the controversy over a Parliamentary Committee recommendation for an amendment in supplier's clause.
The Parliamentary panel examining the nuclear liability bill on Wednesday decided to seek an extension for submitting its report on the controversial legislation. The decision to seek an extension came after top Bharatiya Janata Party leaders including L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley had a meeting with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee."The committee cannot hustle through the proceedings," said BJP leader Jaswant Singh.
Former Indian Ambassador to the United States Ronen Sen has asserted that any denial of a level playing field to United States industry and business -- that lobbied feverishly for the US-India civilian nuclear deal -- in the wake of the Nuclear Liability Bill passed by the Indian parliament would be 'worse than a breach of faith'.
India's decision to sign the Convention on Supplementary Compensation -- which sets parameters on a nuclear operator's financial liability -- is 'a very positive step', according to Under Secretary of State William Burns. According to sources, during his visit to New Delhi last week, Burns had prevailed upon India to sign the CSC to alleviate the angst of US business and industry over provisions in the Nuclear Liability Bill.
As key world capitals scrutinise the Nuclear Liability Bill, passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, for word on how the new legislation would affect potential civil nuclear agreements with India, a senior Union minister has said that private suppliers could still sign agreements with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India clearly stating that their responsibility ended with the handover of equipment and other material to the operator.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Karunanidhi has summoned all DMK MPs in Chennai on Tuesday, to discuss the nuke liability bill, common enterance test for medical students other political issues affecting the state.
The Bihar assembly election and the agreement on Nuclear liability bill between Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party had a magical political impact on an Iftar event organised by Member of Parliament and BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussein in New Delhi on Wednesday evening.
Facing stiff opposition over the Nuclear Liability Bill, the government on Friday said it will consult all political parties before tabling the draft legislation in Parliament. "
As a Parliamentary panel races to submit its report on the nuclear liability bill, Bharatiya Janata Party appears to have dug its heels asking the government to clarify whether the draft legislation was India-specific or being enacted to fulfil requirements of international treaties.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, which has held marathon deliberations on the controversial Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010, is expected to present its report to Parliament on August 9.
The Parliamentary panel examining the controversial nuclear liability bill is expected to finalise its report in time for introduction of the draft legislation during the monsoon session beginning July 26. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment on Forests is examining the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010 that was introduced in the Lok Sabha on May 7 amid stiff resistance from a united Opposition.
The US-India relationship will continue to be misread until India recognises that relations with a democratic superpower-- tossed about by the expectations of two separate electorates--will be inevitably more complex than the stolid handshake of the Soviet Union, or the posturing and sloganeering of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Ron Somers, president, US-India Business Council, which lobbied to get the US-India nuclear technology deal approved, like the rest of the American business fraternity, is upset by India's recent purchase of nuclear reactors and sophisticated technology and weaponry from Russia.
Terming the passing of the civil nuclear liability bill by the Parliament as 'flawed', an eminent American expert on South Asian affairs has said the US policy makers and industrial leaders have been taken off guard by this and it threatens to cast a pall over the historic Indo-US civilian nuclear deal.
An obviously chagrined United States-India Business Council, which has lobbied feverishly for the passage of the US-India civilian nuclear deal in the US Congress, on Monday issued a guarded reaction to the passage of the nuclear liability bill in the Parliament that had 'compromised on the indemnity clause demanded by American companies to protect it from liability in case of a nuclear accident.'
Describing it as a personal victory of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before the visit of US President Barack Obama to India, American media on Thursday said the passage of the Nuclear Liability bill would pave the way for much needed foreign investment in the crucial atomic energy sector of the country.
Speaking in Lok Sabha during the debate over the nuclear liability bill, Dr Singh said: "To say that this Bill is aimed at advancing US interest is far from truth. History will be the judge."
Even as political acrimony over the Nuclear Liability Bill rages in and outside Parliament, India's old-time friend Russia has clearly told the Indian establishment that it will not accept any liability for the supply of equipment and other material to help India build its nuclear power plants, either in the present or future.
Unrest in Kashmir and Commonwealth Games preparations are expected to find a mention when Congress President Sonia Gandhi addresses a meeting of Congress Parliamentary Party in New Delhi on Thursday.
The controversial Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill will be tabled in Parliament on Wednesday.
The nuclear liability bill is fatally flawed. It's designed to shield the nuclear industry from discharging its public responsibility. It must be scrapped, writes Praful Bidwai
Gopal Krishna makes a case against the nuclear liability bill.
In an exclusive interview to Rediff.com, US Assistant Secretary of State Robert O Blake speaks about President Obama's trip to India, the recent US-India Strategic Dialogue and the fate of the nuclear liability bill.
In a scathing indictment of the nuclear liability bill passed by Indian Parliament, Nicholas Burns, former under secretary of state in the Bush administration, has warned that if the bill was not amended it could sound the death knell of the historic Indo-US nuclear deal and adversely impact on the envisaged US-India strategic partnership.
Victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, described as one of the world's worst-ever industrial disasters, have filed a Right to Information petition with the prime minister's office in New Delhi.The RTI plea wants to know whether the Central government took into consideration the disaster of gas leak at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal in 1984 while drafting the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill with the United States.
The delay in the Nuclear Liability Bill, which has faced vehement protests by the Opposition in Parliament, has become a worrying factor for United States business and industry circles.
Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday clarified that the party did not have any deal with the United Progressive Alliance government on the crucial nuclear liability bill passed by Parliament in the just-concluded Monsoon session.
With passage of the nuclear liability Bill, the heavy engineering supply chain, led by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Bharat Forge Ltd (BFL), is gearing to take up the challenge ahead.
When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh vehemently defended the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill 2010, it was only the eighth time he had addressed Parliament since his government took charge in May 2009.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said the government has an "open mind" on the nuclear liability bill and is ready to discuss any "deficiencies" in the proposed legislation that is facing stiff opposition from BJP and Left parties.
The United Progressive Alliance government says it will table the civil nuclear liability bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, but before that it hopes to resolve the continuing differences with the opposition parties over the wordings of some key aspects of the bill.
Particularly in the wake of allegations levelled in Parliament against the Congress and the government by its one-time friends and allies, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, that the CBI has agreed to give a clean chit to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in return for the BJP support.
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