Clarity needed on laws related to nuclear industry: Kakodkar

There should be more clarity on laws related to the nuclear industry, especially the Civil Liability Nuclear Damage Act (2010), to boost investments and give more confidence to investors, Anil Kakodkar, who was involved in finalising the Indo-US nuclear deal, today said.
The former DAE secretary, who is also a member of Atomic Commission of India, said with the confusion over the liability act and its interpretations, it was important for the government to be clear about the law so that it can be on the same page with the industry.
"We need to give a serious thought to what the problem is. There are many public sector companies wishing to invest in nuclear energy industry. Many of them have personally asked me and said we have money and cannot hold it for a long time and so the investments, and even people are willing, are not going anywhere (in the industry).

"We must ask ourself why? There are many industries looking at large potential at nuclear energy. They would want to invest and augment their manufacturing capacity. They are not sure whether their investment would be a good investment or not," Kakodkar said.
He was speaking at the sixth Nuclear Energy Conclave organised by the Indian Energy Forum here.
He said that it was essential to identify the reasons for lack of the confidence within the investors and take steps to create a positive environment.

"It is important for the government and the industry should be in the same side and there should be an articulation that this is what the law means.

"If there is an assumption and both sides go to the court and argue on the same basis. At least it create some confidence on the part of the industry because of the numbers I have seen, the implications does not seem to be in quantitative terms in a one particular logical argument," Kakodkar said.
The suppliers have often raised concerns about the ambiguity over the CLND Act 2010. Many have raised objections over section 17 (a), (b) and (c) and section 46 of the act. The legislation was formulated after the Fukushima accident.