Concerns about nuclear liability act 'unwarranted': Jitendra Singh

Terming the concerns raised about the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLND) as "misplaced" and "unwarranted", Union Minister Jitendra Singh today said the Act is actually in the interest of the country.

"I want to clarify that the concerns raised about the CLND are misplaced and unwarranted. It is not only in the interest of foreign investors but also in the interest of India and nobody has to actually worry for that," Singh, who is the MoS PMO, said at the India Nuclear Energy summit here.

Clauses in the CLND Act (2010), which give the operator the Right to Recourse and allow it to sue the suppliers in case of any accident, were seen as being a major hindrance to the growth of the nuclear industry.

He said to address these concerns the government has launched an insurance pool to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore, which is mandatory under the CLND in a bid to offset financial burden of foreign nuclear suppliers.

"The kind of follow up that has been done by the government through the nuclear insurance pool is in the operators' interest. Their concerns are being looked after through this mechanism.

"Therefore, it is not only in the interest of foreign operators but also in our interest to have made them secure. So, therefore, this should be a reassurance if anyone (operators) tends to say that the government has not adequately addressed the concern about the investors from overseas," he said.

Under the Rs 1,500 crore pool, set up by General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) and 11 other non-life insurers including New India, Oriental Insurance, National Insurance and United India Insurance from the public sector apart from private insurance companies, policies offered will be a nuclear operators' liability insurance policy and a nuclear suppliers' special contingency (against right to recourse) insurance policy.