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| US 'pleased' with Indian move to proceed with N-liability bill |
| Lalit K Jha/PTI / Washington Mar 13, 2010, 11:40 IST |
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The Obama Administration has said it is "pleased" with the Indian government's decision to go ahead with a bill on nuclear liability in Parliament, describing it as a key move in implementation of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.
"We were very gratified to learn ... (about) India's intention to introduce this bill in the current session of the Indian Parliament," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Robert Blake, told the popular Japanese newspaper 'Asahi Shimbun' in an interview.
The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010, which addresses the issue of liability of private operators of nuclear plants, is expected to be introduced in Lok Sabha on Monday.
It 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.
"...We are pleased with (the decision to introduce the bill in Parliament) that and we'll be following the progress of that legislation very closely. And, the ultimate goal of ours is, of course, to allow the export of nuclear reactors to India. As you know, the Indians have set aside two nuclear reactor park sites, in the states of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh," he said.
Up to eight reactors could be located in each of those parks that represent significant export of American technology and also a source of jobs for the US to help its economic recovery, he said.
Blake said the US, under President Barack Obama, remains very much committed to the nuclear deal that was signed by the then President George W Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "Then-Senator Obama was a supporter of that, as was Senator (Hillary) Clinton, and the Obama administration has reaffirmed its support for that agreement," he said.
"So, we are now in the process of implementing that agreement... We have very important talks on reprocessing under way. Those are, I think, making good progress and the deadline for completing those is August of this year, and we expect to be done well before then," he said.
The US is very much hoping that the Indian government will proceed with the key legislation on nuclear liability that would be very important protection for American companies which are seeking to do more business in the civil nuclear area in India, Blake said.
He also said the Obama Administration expects Prime Minister Singh to play a prominent role at the nuclear summit convened by the US President in April.
Obama "looks forward to welcoming Prime Minister Singh, who will be one of the very prominent and welcome attendees at that summit," Blake said in the interview, according to a transcript released by the State Department.
Heads of State of as many as 45 countries are expected to attend the two-day nuclear summit beginning on April 12. "Prime Minister Singh has already endorsed the President's vision of working towards a nuclear weapons-free world. As you know, the President outlined that vision in Prague in March of last year," Blake said.
The top State Department official said the US thinks India can be a very important partner in this whole effort. At the same time, Blake noted that India lives in a "sensitive region" where both China and Pakistan also have nuclear capabilities.
"So, this agreement will have to be pursued with those countries as part of any such effort," he said. "I think that's something that we're working on right now.
"But also, I think, it's important to note that the President has shown great leadership by working with Russia, on a new START agreement that would significantly reduce the stockpiles of nuclear weapons in both countries," he said.
"We are trying to lead by example here, and we hope that that will be a significant topic of the Global Nuclear Security Summit, in April," Blake said.
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