First meeting of the India-U.S. Contact Group on Civil Nuclear Cooperation

[Hindustani78]

India to ratify convention on N-compensation - The Times of India
Jan 27, 2015, 06.44 AM IST

NEW DELHI: India is set to ratify the Vienna convention on supplementary compensation (CSC) for nuclear damage after the nuclear liability hurdle was lifted on Sunday. The convention was signed in 2010. In four years, India has failed to ratify the convention to access a big international fund pool for compensation in case of nuclear damage. With the liability law becoming controversial, US and other partners told India that its law was incompatible with CSC.

When India and the US set up the contact group to resolve liability issues in September 2014, White House and the PMO kept oversight over the meetings. India also reached out to the US firms that could become suppliers.

Indian and overseas companies have been skittish about being suppliers due to the almost unlimited liability they might have to take on.

India said under Clause 35 of the liability law, victims can't sue for civil compensation under other laws barring the Nuclear Damage Claims commissions. That, Indian officials explained, would address concerns over Article 46 that spooked suppliers.

Article 46 would continue to apply to operators. Operators would be liable to be sued under green laws, but it wouldn't apply to suppliers.

The government has given a legal "memorandum" including the contact group discussions. That means India's assurances on limiting liability for suppliers and keeping claims under the CLNDA would be enshrined in a legal assurance.

India hopes the insurance pool would work the concerns of Article 17B on supplier liability. The way it'd work, government sources say is this - Five public sector insurance firms will pool Rs 750 crore, the rest Rs 750 crore initially would be given as "soft loan" by government.

Companies will buy insurance premium adding to the insurance pool. Indian firms will open a new chapter offering re-insurance in the nuclear sector.

After Sunday's deal two things have happened - the US stepped off the bench on nuclear issues and persuaded to clear administrative arrangement that'd operationalize the deal. Second, companies like Westinghouse and GE now have a clearer path to investing in our nuclear business.

 

[Hindustani78]

Nuclear deal among five key takeaways from Obama visit - The Times of India
TNN | Jan 29, 2015, 06.55 AM IST


US President Barack Obama's India visit was initially seen as more about symbolism than substance, but as it turned out, this was one of the most substantive engagements between the two countries with senior foreign ministry officials describing it as historic. Obama backed India to play a bigger role on global issues as he reiterated support to India's candidature for a permanent membership of UN security council. The following are some of the most important takeaways:

Nuclear Deal

The end of the nuclear logjam was a big takeaway because it was alone acting as an impediment in deepening strategic ties. India didn't give in to any intrusive monitoring of its nuclear facilities and supplies and removed the liability hurdle through an insurance pool without diluting its liability law. It remains to be seen though if a nuclear accident victim retains the right to sue suppliers as envisaged in the law. But with the governments out of the way, it is over to businesses to do a cost-benefit analysis for building nuclear reactors in India.

Asia-Pacific Vision

The two governments issued a joint strategic vision for Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean in what may be one of the most significant foreign policy statements by the Modi government. Coupled with last year's Modi-Obama joint statement, it shows that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not averse to an eventual amalgamation of India's Act East and US' Asia pivot. Modi is himself said to have been very keen on signing the China-centric strategic vision after he shared his fear of an "expansive" China with Obama. This is a considerable shift from the stand of the UPA administration which was more inhibited about endorsing the US pivot to Asia.

Defence Ties

India and the US renewed their broad 10-year defence framework, with the Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) being the key new element. Under it, the two have chosen four relatively modest military products — Raven mini-UAVs, aircraft reconnaissance modules, mobile electric power sources & soldier protective gear — for co-development and production. Plus, the two nations have also agreed to set up two working groups to explore development of aircraft carrier technologies and jet engines, which are more high-end.

Best Partners

The decision to elevate the strategic partnership with a Declaration of Friendship strengthens and expands the relationship between India and the US. Among other things, it also envisages regular summit meets. Signaling the natural affinity enjoyed by the two nations, as the White House said in a press release, this declaration proclaims a higher level of trust and coordination that will "continue to draw the two governments and people together across the spectrum of human endeavour for a better world".

Thinly Veiled Warning

Obama may have handed another takeaway in the form of a thinly veiled warning that religious tolerance is imperative for India's success. Coming from a country the Modi government sees as indispensable for its own economic success and overall global standing, it may not be easy to just wish Obama's assertion away. If this leads Modi to, at some stage, publicly shun fringe elements associated with BJP and their controversial religious conversion programme, it will only help raise India's and his stature.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/457431/us-india-nuclear-breakthrough-could.html
New Delhi, Feb 03, 2015, Reuters

A "breakthrough understanding" to open India's nuclear power sector to U.S. firms reached during President Barack Obama's visit to New Delhi last month could be finalised this year, Indian officials say.

The Jan. 25 announcement by Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi followed six weeks of intensive talks, but few details were released beyond a framework based on India's acceptance of the principle that plant operators should bear primary liability in the event of a nuclear disaster.

Significant work remains on the fine print of a deal aimed at unlocking projects worth tens of billions of dollars that have been stuck the drawing board for years. India wants to nearly treble its installed nuclear capacity, which would make it the world's second biggest market after China.

U.S. officials say details of an insurance scheme to protect suppliers from crippling lawsuits need to be thrashed out and India still has to ratify a U.N. nuclear convention. Indian officials do not rule out completing the process this year.

"We are committed to moving ahead on all implementation issues at an early date," said Syed Akbaruddin, chief spokesman at India's Ministry of External Affairs. "There are no policy hurdles left."

General Electric and Westinghouse, a unit of Japan's Toshiba, were fully briefed on the meetings of a nuclear "contact group" that hammered out the nuclear compromise in London, say sources with direct knowledge of the talks.

Bringing them into the mix was crucial because the prospect of huge lawsuits, like those against Union Carbide over the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster, has until now kept U.S. and other foreign firms on the sidelines.

India and the United States signed a landmark agreement to cooperate on nuclear power back in 2008. Yet an expected bonanza never materialised because India later passed a law that would expose reactor makers to liability if there was an accident.

The liability issue has became a metaphor for the unrealised potential of the bilateral business relationship and a question mark against Modi's "Make in India" mantra. "NOT INCOMPATIBLE"

As the days counted down to Obama's visit, Indian officials persuaded their U.S. counterparts that their law was "not incompatible" with international standards that place the burden of liability on the operator, said one senior U.S. official.

New Delhi also proposed setting up an insurance pool with a liability cap of 15 billion rupees ($244 million). The state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India would pay premiums to cover its liability. Suppliers would take out separate insurance against their secondary liability - which could not exceed that of the operator - at a "fraction" of the cost.

India must still ratify the International Atomic Energy Agency's Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC), which requires signatories to channel liability to the operator and offers access to relief funds.

"We would be looking at how quickly we can ratify the CSC - this is part of our assurance to the suppliers, along with the insurance pool," said an Indian member of the contact group, set up by Obama and Modi at a Washington summit last year.

The U.S. official said Washington expects the Indians to ratify with the IAEA in the near future, along with documentation "stating what their law intends" on the issue of liability, which should offer further reassurance to U.S. firms.

 

[Hindustani78]

India agreed to share nuclear data for breakthrough in talks - The Hindu
NEW DELHI, February 5, 2015


India has accepted that it will share data on nuclear material and equipment in order to secure the U.S. agreement to waive its “tracking requirements” on that material.

According to sources, India’s concession on the issue was the reason for the “breakthrough” in agreement on the administrative arrangements for the Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear deal during President Barack Obama’s visit. The data collected would be shared during annual consultations between a U.S.-Indian group to be specially set up to implement the administrative arrangements that will guide the nuclear deal.

Indian officials maintained that the data sharing agreement was the same as had been extended to other countries. At a press conference shortly after the Obama-Modi summit in Delhi, a senior official of the MEA on Disarmament and International Security Affairs Amandeep Singh Gill told reporters: “We have an administrative arrangement with Canada and that has been the template for finalising our administrative arrangement with the U.S.” The text of the Canadian agreement, that was finalised in April 2013, hasn’t yet been made public, but is understood to only allow for IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) safeguards while sharing data based on aggregates from the U.N. agency.

However, in an interview to Headlines Today last week, U.S. Ambassador Richard Verma said, “Under our law there are requirements to track materials. For the first time we got a commitment from the Indian government to come up with data, and to come up with consultations regularly that would meet our requirements.” If, as he says, this is a new and unique departure from India’s previous stand of only providing data to inspectors of the U.N. agency IAEA, it could raise several questions for the NDA government.

The source also denied that President Obama had issued any “executive waiver” to bypass the requirement to monitor the use of nuclear material in India. The American requirement, under the Hyde Act of 2006 stipulates that the U.S. President must certify to U.S. Congress that India (for whom the law was specially drafted) is in compliance with U.S. “tracking and flagging” requirements on fissile material and nuclear equipment at reactors supplied by the U.S., even if it is from third parties.

Indian officials of the “nuclear contact group” who had met three times in Delhi, Vienna and London to hammer out an agreement before President Obama’s visit are now working on producing a “memorandum” for their American counterparts, that will put the Indian government’s explanation on the liability law as well as other parts of the negotiation on paper. Once the U.S. clears the memorandum, the administrative arrangements between the two governments will be signed. The government has not yet released details of the administrative arrangements agreed to with the U.S., nor of the “insurance pool” and memorandum on liability that secured the arrangements. According to sources, India has committed in negotiations that U.S. suppliers will not be liable for civil or ‘tort’ damages under Section 46 of the Liability Act, and their limited liability will be covered by the Indian insurance pool of Rs. 1,500 crore ($242 million).

“No right to recourse”

“In effect, we have no right to recourse after these talks. Ultimately the liability is on the Indian side and lies with the Indian taxpayer now,” a former Foreign Secretary told The Hindu. “It seems as if the government is not being honest and clear about what we have agreed to.”

However, with Parliament scheduled to reopen later this month for the budget session, more clarity on the negotiations will also be demanded there.

 

[Hindustani78]

U.S.-India “trading paper” on civil nuclear “breakthrough” - The Hindu
Updated: February 7, 2015 02:11 IST

A top U.S. official shed light on the “breakthrough understanding” in civilian nuclear cooperation, which President Barack Obama reached with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a week ago, describing it as the bilateral understanding that the Indian nuclear liability law was in “alignment” with the Vienna Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC).

Speaking at a conference on “Overcoming the U.S.-India Divide”, organised by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace here, U.S. Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, Nisha Desai Biswal, however, hinted at an ongoing search for greater clarity on the assurances made by the Indian side during Mr. Obama’s historic visit as Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations.

She said, “We are still in the process of taking what these top-line commitments were and trading paper to be able to find the more detailed understandings,” adding, however, that the U.S. resolution of this “lingering challenge” hinged on the convergence between India’s 2010 Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLND) and the 1963 CSC.

The Modi administration’s statement of alignment “will help to create the assurances that India’s liability law meets international standards, which is fundamentally what we have been seeking,” Ms. Biswal explained, adding that as those details get worked out “there is an understanding at the working level and the top level that needs to be memorialised in some way,” and this would define the way forward for Washington.

When asked by The Hindu about whether a “memorandum” capturing the essence of the administrative arrangement and liability implications stemming from the recent discussions would be consistent with the CLND, the Assistant Secretary said, “I think it would be for the Indian side to answer how such an understanding relates to the liability law that was passed.”

If in fact it was the confluence of liability implications of the CLND and the CSC that comprises the “breakthrough understanding” announced by Mr. Obama and Mr. Modi during the visit, it begs the question why this was not realised sooner, given that the language of the two laws has not changed since they became operational, and India has for years insisted that the two were mutually consistent.

Ms. Biswal, however, expressed confidence that given that the requisite understandings had been reached, “now it will be up to the companies to assess for themselves the business case scenarios and make their own decisions based on the commercial aspects – how to move forward.”

 

[Hindustani78]

Indo-US nuke deal: Modi govt says suppliers can't be sued for accidents, operators can | Zee News
Last Updated: Sunday, February 8, 2015 - 15:40

New Delhi: Foreign suppliers of atomic reactors to India cannot be sued for the damages by victims of a nuclear accident but can be held liable by the operator who has the right of recourse, government said on Sunday releasing details of the understanding reached with the US recently.


In a seven-page 'frequently asked questions' dealing with contentious issues including liability, compensation and right of recourse in case of nuclear mishap, the External Affairs Ministry said the understanding on the policy hurdles were reached after three rounds of discussions between the Indo-US Nuclear Contact Group, which met last in London, just three days before President Barack Obama arrived here on January 25.

"Based on these discussions, an understanding was reached with the US on the two outstanding issues on civil nuclear cooperation, which was confirmed by the leaders (Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Obama) on January 25, 2015," the ministry said.

Asserting that the country's Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages (CLND) Act "channels all legal liability for nuclear damage exclusively to the operator", the MEA said, "concerns" over the broad scope of Section 46, pertaining to possible actions under other laws, have been raised by suppliers, both domestic and foreign and clarified that this section "does not provide a basis for bringing claims for compensation for nuclear damage under other Acts."

The ministry further said this Section applies exclusively to the operator and does not extend to the supplier was confirmed by the Parliamentary debates at the time of the adoption of the CLND Act.

"It may be noted that the CLND Bill was adopted by a vote. During the course of the vote on various clauses of the Bill, in the Rajya Sabha two amendments were moved for clause 46 that finally became Section 46 of the CLND Act that inter- alia sought to include suppliers in this provision. Both those amendments were negatived. A provision that was expressly excluded from the statute cannot be read into the statute by interpretation," it said.

"At the same time it does not create the grounds for victims to move foreign courts. In fact that would be against the basic intent of the law to provide a domestic legal framework for victims of nuclear damage to seek compensation. The fact that a specific amendment to introduce the jurisdiction of foreign courts was negatived during the adoption of the CLND Bill buttresses this interpretation," it further added.

The ministry also rejected suggestions that there was no 'right of recourse' for an operator against foreign suppliers, saying the Section 17 of CLND provides right of recourse.

"While it provides a substantive right to the operator, it is not a mandatory but an enabling provision" which can be included in the contract between the operator and the supplier for having a risk sharing mechanism.

"As a matter of policy, NPCIL (Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd.), which is a public sector undertaking, would insist that the nuclear supply contracts contain provisions that provide for a right of recourse consistent with CLND Rules of 2011," MEA said.

Justifying setting up of the insurance pool of Rs 1,500 crores, the ministry said there were about 26 insurance pools operating around the world in countries such as France, Russia, South Africa and the US.

The India Nuclear Insurance Pool has been instituted to facilitate negotiations between the operator and the supplier concerning a right of recourse by providing a source of funds through a market based mechanism to compensate third parties for nuclear damage. It would enable the suppliers to seek insurance to cover the risk of invocation of recourse against them.

"The Pool envisages three types of policies, including a special suppliers' contingency policy for suppliers other than turn key suppliers. Operators and suppliers instead of seeing each other as litigating adversaries will see each other as partners managing a risk together. This is as important for Indian suppliers as it is for US or other suppliers," MEA said.

An international workshop will be held in New Delhi to exchange information on international experience with the insurance pools.

The government also rejected the contention that all the financial burden of the compensation was passed to the tax payer, saying, "It should be understood that there is no extra burden on the taxpayer or the Government."

The CLND Act already requires NPCIL (Operator) to maintain a financial security to cover its maximum liability for civil nuclear damage (Rs 1500 crores), the MEA said, adding currently, it takes out a bank guarantee for this amount against which it pays an annual fee.

With the India Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP), a market based international best practice will be followed and the NPCIL will take out insurance under the Pool for the same amount and just as it pays an annual fee now it will pay an annual insurance premium to the Pool, it added.

The Government will make available Rs 750 crores to the Insurance Pool for the first few years till the insurance companies are able to maintain it on their own.

On maximum amount of liability, the ministry said that in respect of each nuclear incident there shall be the rupee equivalent of 300 million Special Drawing Rights (SDRs).

"As the current value of 1 SDR is about Rs 87, three hundred million SDRs are equivalent to about Rs 2,610 crores. Section 6(2) of the Act lays down that the operator's maximum liability shall be Rs 1,500 crore. In case the total liability exceeds Rs 1,500 crores, as per the CLND Act, this gap of Rs 1,110 crores will be bridged by the Central Government. Beyond Rs 2610 crores, India will be able to access international funds under the CSC once it is a party to that Convention," it noted.

With India committed to ratify the international Convention of Supplementary Compensation (CSC) for nuclear damage at the earliest, India will be able to access international funds under it also.

Country's liability law also provides that the Central Government may establish a "Nuclear Liability Fund" by charging such amount of levy from the operators, in such manner, as may be prescribed. The move may result in a nominal increase of 2 to 5 paise per electricity unit to the consumer, according to sources.

"The constitution of a Nuclear Liability Fund has been under consideration for some time. Such a Fund is proposed to be built up over 10 years by levying a small charge on the operators based on the power generated from existing and new nuclear plants. This is not expected to affect the consumers interests," the ministry said.

The ministry also ruled out any question of possible enhancement of the amount of compensation in the Act in future and its effect on recourse against suppliers with respect to existing contracts, saying there was well established jurisprudence that a change in law cannot alter the terms of an existing contract made under the then extant law.

"A retrospective law which affects the substantive vested rights of a Party under a contract would not be sustainable in a court of law," it added.

The MEA paper came in the backdrop of suggestion by various commentators that government had conceded the interests of tax payers to break the seven-year-old logjam in the Indo-US nuclear deal.

 

[Hindustani78]

Press Releases

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act 2010 and related issues

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act 2010 and related issues
February 08, 2015

Q1. What is the understanding reached with the United States on January 25, 2015 during the visit of President Obama to India?

Ans. India and the United States have reached an understanding on the issues related to civil nuclear liability and finalized the text of the Administrative Arrangement to implement the September 2008 bilateral 123 Agreement. This will allow us to move towards commercial negotiations on setting up reactors with international collaboration in India and realize the significant economic and clean energy potential of the civil nuclear understanding of 2005-2008.

Q2. How was this understanding reached?

Ans. It may be recalled that during PM’s visit to the U.S. in September 2014, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to implement fully the India-U.S. civil nuclear cooperation agreement and established a Contact Group on advancing the implementation of civil nuclear energy cooperation. The Group, comprising representatives from Ministry of External Affairs, Department of Atomic Energy, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Law & Justice, in addition to the representatives from U.S. Government, also had an interface with the companies – NPCIL on the Indian side and Westinghouse and General Electric on the U.S. side. It met three times in New Delhi (16-17 December 2014), Vienna (6-7 January 2015) and London (January 21-22, 2015). Based on these discussions, an understanding was reached with the U.S. on the two outstanding issues on civil nuclear cooperation, which was confirmed by the leaders on January 25, 2015.

Q3. Has India agreed to amend its Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act of 2010 (CLND Act 2010) and the CLND Rules of 2011? If not now, would they be amended in the future?

Ans. There is no proposal to amend the Act or the Rules.

Q4. How have U.S. concerns over the CLND Act then been resolved?

Ans. During the course of the discussions in the Contact Group, using case law and legislative history, the Indian side presented its position concerning the compatibility of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act and the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC). The idea of the India Nuclear Insurance Pool as a part of the overall risk-management scheme for liability was also presented to the U.S. side. Based on the presentations by the Indian side, and the discussion thereon, there is a general understanding that India’s CLND law is compatible with the CSC, which India has signed and intends to ratify.

Q5. What is the CSC?

Ans. The objective of the 1997 Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC) is to establish a worldwide liability regime and to increase the amount of compensation available to the victims of nuclear accidents. A State which is a party to either the 1963 Vienna Convention or the 1960 Paris Convention could become a party to the CSC. A State which is not a party to either of these conventions could also become a party to the CSC if its national law on nuclear liability is in compliance with the provision of the CSC and its Annex, which is an integral part of the CSC. India not being party to the Vienna or the Paris Conventions signed the CSC on 29 October 2010 on the basis of its national law namely the CLND Act.

Q6. Is India’s CLND Act compatible with the CSC?

Ans. The provisions of the CLND Act are broadly in conformity with the CSC and its Annex in terms of channeling the strict/absolute legal liability to the operator, the limitations of the liability in amount and time, liability cover by insurance or financial security, definitions of nuclear installation, damage, etc. In fact, the CLND Act provides the basis for India joining an appropriate international liability regime such as the CSC. Article XVIII of CSC requires that the national law of a Contracting Party that is not a Party to either the Vienna Convention or the Paris Convention has to comply with the provisions of the Annex to this Convention. The CLND Act is compliant with the Annex to the Convention.

Q7. Does the Act channel the liability to the Operator of a nuclear plant as envisaged under CSC?

Ans. Section 4(1) provides that the Operator of the nuclear installation shall be liable for nuclear damage caused by nuclear incident. Further, Section 4(4) provides that the liability of the Operator of the nuclear installation shall be strict and shall be based on the principle of no fault liability. Section 8(1) provides that the Operator shall before he begins operation of his nuclear installation, take out insurance policy or such further financial security covering his liability. All these provisions along with the long title of the Act are clear and ensure that the liability is strict, and channeled to the Operator through a no fault liability regime.

Q8. What about Section 17 and the right of recourse against the supplier in Section 17(b)? Are they not going beyond the Annex to the Convention?

Ans. Section 17 of the Act provides that the operator of the nuclear installation, after paying the compensation for nuclear damage in accordance with section 6, shall have the right to recourse where-

a. Such right is expressly provided for in a contract in writing;
b. The nuclear incident has resulted as a consequence of an act of supplier or his employee, which includes supply of equipment or material with patent or latent defects or sub-standard services;
c. The nuclear incident has resulted from the act of commission or omission of an individual done with the intent to cause nuclear damage.

Article 10 of the Annex to the CSC covers situations envisaged in Sections 17(a) and 17(c); Section 17 (b) is ostensibly in addition to situations identified for the right of recourse provided in Article 10 of the Annex to the CSC. However, the situations identified in Section 17(b) relate to actions and matters such as product liability stipulations/conditions or service contracts. These are ordinarily part of a contract between the operator and the supplier. This situation is not novel but is rather a normal element of a contract. Thus this provision is to be read along with/in the context of the relevant clause in the contract between the operator and supplier on product liability. It is open for the operator and the supplier to agree on the terms of their contract relying on the applicable law. The parties to a contract generally elaborate and specify the extent of their obligations pursuant to warranty and indemnity clauses that are normally part of such contracts.

Article 10(a) of the CSC Annex does not restrict in any manner the contents of the contract between the operator and the supplier including the basis for recourse agreed by the operator and supplier. Therefore, in view of the above, in so far as the reference to the supplier in Section 17(b) is concerned, it would be in conformity with and not in contradiction of Article 10(a) of the CSC Annex. Its operationalization will be through contract conditions agreed to by the operator and the supplier.

Q9. Does Section 17 establish a mandatory statutory right of recourse?

Ans. Section 17 states that the operator shall have a right of recourse. While it provides a substantive right to the operator, it is not a mandatory but an enabling provision. In other words it permits but does not require an operator to include in the contract or exercise a right of recourse. However, even though there is no mandatory legal requirement under the CLND Act to provide for a right of recourse in a contract, there may be policy reasons for having a risk sharing mechanism including a right of recourse. As a matter of policy, NPCIL, which is a public sector undertaking, would insist that the nuclear supply contracts contain provisions that provide for a right of recourse consistent with Rule 24 of CLND Rules of 2011. Article 10 of the CSC Annex does not specify what position either the operator or the supplier can take in contract negotiations. In this regard, the India Nuclear Insurance Pool has been instituted to facilitate negotiations between the operator and the supplier concerning a right of recourse by providing a source of funds through a market based mechanism to compensate third parties for nuclear damage. It would enable the suppliers to seek insurance to cover the risk of invocation of recourse against them.

Q10. Who is the ‘supplier’? Is the supplier always a foreign company?

Ans. Rule 24 of the CLND Rules explains that ‘supplier’ shall include a person who:

(i) manufactures and supplies, either directly or through an agent, a system, equipment or component or builds a structure on the basis of functional specification; or
(ii) provides build to print or detailed design specifications to a vendor for manufacturing a system, equipment or component or building a structure and is responsible to the operator for design and quality assurance; or
(iii) provides quality assurance or design services.

The supplier may not always be a foreign company; there may be domestic suppliers who fulfill the above criteria and in some cases the operator (NPCIL) itself may be a supplier as it provides build to print or detailed design specifications to a vendor.

Q11. Does Section 46 permit claims for compensation for nuclear damage to be brought under statutes other than the CLND Act?

Ans. Concerns over the broad scope of Section 46 have been raised by suppliers, both domestic and foreign. Section 46 of the CLND Act provides that "the provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, any other law for the time being in force, and nothing contained herein shall exempt the operator from any proceeding which might, apart from this act, be instituted against such operator”. The language in section 46 of CLND Act 2010 is similar to such language in several other legislations such as Telecom Regulatory Authority Act, Electricity Act, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Act, Insurance Commission Act. Such language is provided routinely to underline that other relevant laws continue to be operable in their respective domains.

Q12. Does Section 46 extend to suppliers in violation of the CSC?

Ans. No. The CLND Act channels all legal liability for nuclear damage exclusively to the operator and Section 46 does not provide a basis for bringing claims for compensation for nuclear damage under other Acts. That this section applies exclusively to the operator and does not extend to the supplier is confirmed by the Parliamentary debates at the time of the adoption of this Act. It may be noted that the CLND Bill was adopted by a vote. During the course of the vote on various clauses of the Bill, in the Rajya Sabha two amendments were moved for clause 46 that finally became Section 46 of the CLND Act that inter-alia sought to include suppliers in this provision. Both those amendments were negatived. A provision that was expressly excluded from the statute cannot be read into the statute by interpretation. It is well-settled principle of law that every statute is to be interpreted in accordance with the intention of the legislature or maker of the Statute (M/s. Turtuf Safety Glass Industries V Commissioner of Sales Tax U.P., 2007 (9) SCALE 610, and State of Kerala & Anr V P.V. Neelakandan Nair & Ors, 2005 (5) SCALE 424).

Q13. Does Section 46 allow victims to go to foreign courts against the operator or the supplier?

Ans. Section 46 exclusively covers the remedies that are available against the operator. It does not exempt the operator from any other proceedings instituted against him, apart from this Act, nor derogates from any other law in force in India. The provision "in addition to and not in derogation of” has to be given its normal plain meaning. Section 46 does not affect the applicability of other laws. Therefore it does not exempt the operator from application of other laws covering matters other than the civil liability for nuclear damage. At the same time it does not create the grounds for victims to move foreign courts. In fact that would be against the basic intent of the law to provide a domestic legal framework for victims of nuclear damage to seek compensation. The fact that a specific amendment to introduce the jurisdiction of foreign courts was negatived during the adoption of the CLND Bill buttresses this interpretation.

Q14. How will the proposed insurance pool operate for operators and suppliers?

Ans. The India Nuclear Insurance Pool is a risk transfer mechanism formed by GIC Re and 4 other PSUs who will together contribute a capacity of Rs 750 crores out of a total of Rs 1500 crores. The balance capacity will be contributed by the Government on a tapering basis. The pool will cover the risks of the liability of the nuclear operator under Section 6(2) of the CLND Act and of the suppliers under Section 17 of the Act. The Pool envisages three types of policies, including a special suppliers’ contingency policy for suppliers other than turn key suppliers. Operators and suppliers instead of seeing each other as litigating adversaries will see each other as partners managing a risk together. This is as important for Indian suppliers as it is for US or other suppliers. An international workshop will be held in India to exchange information on international experience with the 26 insurance pools operating around the world in countries such as France, Russia, South Africa and the U.S.

Q15. What are the kind of insurance policies and premiums envisaged under the Pool?

Ans. The Pool covers risks pertaining to the liability of the nuclear operator under Section 6(2) of the CLND Act as well as the liability of the suppliers under Section 17. Three types of policies are envisaged: a Tier 1 policy for operators; a Tier 2 policy for turn key suppliers and a Tier 3 policy for suppliers other than turn key suppliers. The pricing of premiums will depend on factors such as risk probability, possible severity of damage and exposure to people and property around nuclear installations. GIC Re, the Pool Administrator, is engaged with NPCIL and others to work out the premiums based on risk appraisal. To assist this exercise, a Probabilistic Safety Assessment based study has been carried out by DAE. The scheme is scientific, market based, and benchmarked to international best practices innovated to suit the Indian circumstances.

Q16. Wouldn’t this burden the taxpayer and raise costs of nuclear power?

Ans. It should be understood that there is no extra burden on the taxpayer or the Government. The CLND Act already requires NPCIL (Operator) to maintain a financial security to cover its maximum liability for civil nuclear damage (Rs 1500 crores). Currently, NPCIL takes out a bank guarantee for this amount against which it pays an annual fee. With the India Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP), a market based international best practice will be followed. The NPCIL will take out insurance under the Pool for the same amount and just as it pays an annual fee now it will pay an annual insurance premium to the Pool. The Government will indeed make available Rs 750 crores to the Insurance Pool for the first few years till the insurance companies are able to maintain it on their own. However, the Government will earn a proportionate share of the premium on this sum, which will be utilized only in case of a nuclear accident. The impact on the cost of power plants of the premium payments by operator and suppliers is expected to be minimal. The international experience of 26 insurance pools is that the operators pay only a very small fraction of the total cost of the plants.

Q17. How much compensation is payable under the CLND Act?

Ans. Section 6(1) of the CLND Act presently prescribes that the maximum amount of liability in respect of each nuclear incident shall be the rupee equivalent of three hundred million Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). As the current value of 1 SDR is about Rs 87, three hundred million SDRs are equivalent to about Rs 2610 crores. Section 6(2) of the Act lays down that the operator’s maximum liability shall be Rs 1500 crore. In case the total liability exceeds Rs 1500 crores, as per Section 7 (1) (a) of the CLND Act, this gap of Rs 1110 crores will be bridged by the Central Government. Beyond Rs 2610 crores, India will be able to access international funds under the CSC once it is a party to that Convention.

Section 7 (2) of the CLND Act provides that the Central Government may establish a "Nuclear Liability Fund” by charging such amount of levy from the operators, in such manner, as may be prescribed. The constitution of a Nuclear Liability Fund has been under consideration for some time. Such a Fund is proposed to be built up over 10 years by levying a small charge on the operators based on the power generated from existing and new nuclear plants. This is not expected to affect the consumer’s interests.

Q18. Could operators and suppliers be asked to pay more compensation in the future on existing contracts than currently provided under the law?

Ans. As regards the question of possible enhancement of the amount of compensation in the Act in future and its effect on recourse against suppliers with respect to existing contracts, there is well established jurisprudence that a change in law cannot alter the terms of an existing contract made under the then extant law. A retrospective law which affects the substantive vested rights of a Party under a contract would not be sustainable in a court of law. In M/s Purbanchal Cables & Conductors Pvt. Ltd. V Assam State Electricity Boards & Another, [2012] 6 S.C.R. 905, the Supreme Court held that though the legislature can make laws with retrospective effect, the test is that it should not take away vested rights or impose new burdens or impair existing obligations.

Q19. What are the next steps?

Ans. It will be now up to the companies to follow up with their own negotiations and come up with viable techno-commercial offers and contracts consistent with our law and our practice so that reactors built with international collaboration can start contributing to strengthening India’s energy security and India’s clean energy options.

 

[Hindustani78]

No 'novel or unique' provision for US in nuclear understanding | Zee News
Last Updated: Monday, February 9, 2015 - 22:05

New Delhi: The text of the Administrative Arrangement (AA) under the Indo-US nuclear deal contains no "novel or unique" provisions and is totally consistent with IAEA safeguards, government said on Monday.


Noting that sharing of information under an AA was a normal practice, Spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry Syed Akbaruddin said similarly, annual consultations were also a normal practice under an AA.

"Sharing of information under an AA on the implementation of a bilateral civil nuclear cooperation agreement is a normal practice. This is not novel or unique to the draft AA finalised with the US.

"Similarly, annual consultations are also a normal practice under an AA."

However, depending on the requirements of each country, the information is shared, officials said and cited the example of Canada with which India shares information of particular nature.

"At the same time, there are Indo-US specificities flowing from our bilateral 123 Agreement, which the draft AA addresses. These include, for example, the obligation under Article 7 of the 123 Agreement to provide information on facilities that store certain types of material," the Spokesperson said.

He also emphasised that "The text of the draft AA is totally consistent with India's practice of IAEA safeguards in accordance with the India Specific Safeguards Agreement as well as with our bilateral agreements with the US, including both the 123 Agreement and the Arrangements and Procedures on reprocessing. There will be no bilateral safeguards."

PTI

 

[Hindustani78]

IRDA gives nod for Rs 1,500-crore nuclear liability pool
New Delhi, Feb 23, 2015, (PTI)

Insurance sector regulator IRDA has given in-principle approval for setting up of Rs 1,500 crore nuclear liability pool for providing risk cover to nuclear reactors.

"We have given in-principle approval (for setting up nuclear liability pool). There was a demand for covering the reactors. The corpus for it would be Rs 1,500 crore," Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India Chairman T S Vijayan told PTI here.

"It was thought that this pool would be created within India. So, insurance companies had sought approval from us for creating a separate pool," he said on the sidelines of a function organised by Insurance Brokers Association of India.

Stating that insurance companies are yet to bring in details on how the money would be raised, he said, "I am sure when it comes we will look at it favourably."

GIC, the domestic re-insurer, would be the nodal agency for creating a nuclear liability pool with a corpus of Rs 1,500 crore.

The re-insurer is in the process of pricing and underwriting the policy. On fake calls made to customers, he said insurance brokers and other intermediaries have to act on this and spread awareness among the gullible customers so that they are not cheated.

"IRDA, on its part, is making all efforts to safeguard customers from such spurious and fictitious calls by issuing public notice on its website and newspapers," he said.

The regulator has been receiving complaints, through e-mail or letters and its Integrated Grievance Management System, from members of public informing the authority that they are receiving spurious calls from unidentified persons.

These callers sometimes claim to be representatives of IRDA and offer insurance policies of different insurance companies with various benefits.

They dupe people by saying that IRDA is distributing bonus to insurance policy holders out of the funds invested by insurance companies with the regulators.

They also claim that the policyholder would receive bonuses being distributed by IRDA if they purchase an insurance policy and wait for a few months after which the bonus would be released by IRDA.

He urged public to remain alert and not fall prey to frauds or scams perpetrated by miscreants who impersonate to be employees or officers of IRDA or other insurance companies.

 

[Hindustani78]

Nuclear Liability Law not diluted; Rs 1500 crore upfront compensation only | Zee News
Last Updated: Thursday, February 26, 2015 - 17:17

New Delhi: The government on Thursday insisted that no provision related to compensation under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLND) has been waived off in the recent Indo-US agreement and said the provision of Rs 1500 crore is for immediate compensation only.


External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, while replying to queries in Rajya Sabha on the nuclear cooperation agreement with the US, allayed apprehensions that in case of a nuclear incident, victims would get compensation of Rs 1,500 crore only.

"Government has not waived any provisions related to compensation under the Civil liability for Nuclear Damage Act of 2010," she said.

"We are not leaving victims (in case of nuclear incident) at Rs 1,500 crore," she said while underlining that this amount is only "immediate compensation" through the Nuclear Insurance Pool.

She said the central government can notify higher amount, if required.

She said the CLND Act prescribes that the maximum amount of liability in respect of each nuclear incident shall be the rupee equivalent of 300 million Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) (about Rs 2,610 crore).

As per the FAQ posted on her ministry's website, if the total liability exceeds Rs 1,500 crores, the gap of Rs 1,110 crore would be bridged by the Central Government.

Beyond Rs 2,610 crores, India will be able to access international funds under the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC) once it is a party to that Convention.

The India Nuclear Insurance Pool is a risk transfer mechanism formed by GIC Re and 4 other PSUs who will together contribute a capacity of Rs 750 crores out of a total of Rs 1500 crores.

She said the Indo-US understanding was reached in three rounds of discussion in a contact groups set up for advancing the implementation of civil nuclear cooperation.

"During the course of discussions...India presented its position concerning the compatibility of the CLND Act," she said.

PTI

 

[Hindustani78]

No dilution of India's Nuclear liability Act: Govt | Zee News
No dilution of India's Nuclear liability Act: Govt
Last Updated: Wednesday, March 11, 2015 - 13:52

New Delhi: Government on Wednesday sought to allay concerns that the Indo-US talks may lead to dilution of India's Nuclear Liability Act and asserted that the law has not been amended and the onus of any damages remains with the supplier.

Minister of State for Atomic Energy and Space Jitendra Singh also assured members in the Lok Sabha that safety standrads in India's nuclear plants were as good as anywhere in the world and in fact, "more than many other countries".

"Overall, there is no amendment in the Act. The onus is still on the suppliers," Singh said during the Question Hour.

Following the recent talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama, both sides had claimed a "breakthrough" over the nuclear impasse.

The concerns were raised as the US firms were opposed to those aspects of the Nuclear Liability Act which hold the operator liable for any nuclear incident.

Responding to the concerns expressed by some members over radioactivity in nuclear plants and other safety-related issue including those concerned with local population in case of any incident, Singh said the government has enough evidence to prove that radioactivity emitted in plants is "negligible".

"The rules and regulations are fully in line with the international norms... We are absolutely following all the safety measures, in fact, more than many countries," he said.

Noting that India has adopted a closed fuel cycle where the spent fuel is regarded as a resource material and none of it is disposed of, the Minister said all the spent fuel is reprocessed to recover useful fissile and fertile materials to recycle back in the reactor as a fuel.

"There are no environmental repercussions due to spent- fuel generated from nuclear power plants in India," he said.

Observing that these "useful fission products have societal applications", Singh said these products, "separated from waste for their use in irradiators, have various applications in healthcare, agriculture and industry."


PTI

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...navdropdownwidget&utm_campaign=topnavdropdown
Updated: March 21, 2015 00:28 IST

India and the U.S. are “currently exchanging” the signed texts of the administrative arrangements finalised during US President Barack Obama’s visit to India in January for civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries, said External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin on Friday.

“After the necessary internal procedures, the signed texts are currently ‘being exchanged’ between the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) of India and the US Department of Energy,” Mr. Akbaruddin, said. Administrative arrangements pertain to the monitoring, handling, inspection and safeguard of the nuclear material procured from the U.S. In line with that, the government organised a workshop on the “Indian Nuclear Insurance Policy” attended by over 100 companies in the nuclear field doing business in India to understand the insurance pool and working under the Indian liability law. After this companies will be in a position to enter into commercial deals.

In addition the India-U.S. nuclear contact group met on Thursday and acknowledged that “all policy hurdles no longer exists” and they are now focussed to better commercial prospects of the deal.

IBSA dialogue

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will undertake bilateral visit to Tanzania and South Africa from March 28-31. In South Africa apart from bilateral meetings, Ms. Swaraj will co-chair the joint commission between India and South Africa as well as a tripartite meeting between the Foreign Ministers of India, Brazil and South Africa under the “India, Brazil and South Africa dialogue forum,” he said.

 

[Hindustani78]

Updated: June 13, 2015 18:16 IST
Govt sets up Rs. 1500-crore nuclear insurance pool - The Hindu

Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Department of Atomic Energy and Space addressing a press conference along with Ratan Kumar Sinha, Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission of India (AEC), in New Delhi on Saturday. Photo: V. Sudershan

The government has launched an insurance pool to the tune of Rs. 1,500 crore which is mandatory under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLND).

This was announced by Minister of State in the Department of Atomic Energy Jitendra Singh in New Delhi on Saturday, noting that several projects such as the long-pending Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojna (GHAVP) that were held up in its absence, are now expected to move forward after setting up of the pool.

Clauses in the CLND Act, 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. These concerns led to the formation of the Indian nuclear insurance pool.

R.K. Sinha, Secretary in the Department of Atomic Energy, said this would be a solution for suppliers’ concerns about liability from nuclear risks.

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.

Y. Ramulu, General Manager of of General Insurance Corporation (GIC), the fund operator, told PTI that the “shortfall of Rs. 600 crore” was met when a domestic insurance company chipped in with Rs. 100 crore more. “Remaining gap of (Rs. 500 crore) was filled in by the British Nuclear Insurance Pool,” he said.

“This will address the concern of the suppliers like that of the Gorakhpur Haryana project and also of foreign players.

Now we have a policy for the entire nuclear industry of the country,” he said, adding that foreign contribution “would not result in foreign inspector inspecting the plants.”

“The GHAVP was supposed to be a pressurised heavy water reactor which was sanctioned by the previous govt. It had met with some problems there were problems of tenders not getting matured due to absence of an insurance pool. The launch of the pool would now enable the concerned parties to come forward for the project,” Singh said.

Highlighting “another aspect” of the move, Mr. Singh said that it would also help in bringing North Indian states into the fold of the nuclear industry. “This would give the atomic energy programme a pan-Indian image.”

Mr. Singh, who is also the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, said the pool would help the government in achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “vision of tripling energy generation from nuclear sector in the next five years.”

 

[Hindustani78]

Department of Atomic Energy
13-June, 2015 18:56 IST
Press Conference on achievements of Department of Atomic Energy held in New Delhi

Decks cleared for Atomic Energy plant in Haryana: Dr Jitendra Singh

Plans to set up a centre “Hall of Nuclear Power” at the New Delhi Science Centre at Pragati Maidan , says Dr Jitendra Singh
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi today to highlight the achievements of the Department of Atomic Energy during one year in office of the present Government, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh disclosed that decks have been cleared for the first-ever atomic energy plant to be set up in Haryana. He said that the northern States of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh were so far somehow not actively involved in the atomic energy programme of India which was hitherto confined mostly to other parts of the country and therefore, with this new initiative, India’s atomic energy programme has assumed a pan-India visibility.

Dr. Jitendra Singh said that during his first-ever visit to Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) as Prime Minister in the month of July last year, Shri Narendra Modi had set a target before the scientists for increasing India’s nuclear energy capability to three times within next ten years and with the new Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor to be set up under Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana (GHAVP), a rapid step forward will be accomplished in the direction of achieving such similarity in the times to come. He said that only yesterday, the Department of Atomic Energy succeeded in launching an insurance pool of Rs.1500 Cr and with this, the decks have been cleared for further progress in installing a Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor with a capacity of two units of 700 MW each in Gorakhpur, Haryana. This reactor is expected to get commissioned by 2022 or 2023, he added.

Another major announcement made by Dr. Jitendra Singh was that, since Department of Atomic Energy was one of the rare departments of Government of India which had its headquarters in Mumbai and not in the Union Capital of Delhi, it has been planned to shortly set up a centre called “Hall of Nuclear Power” at the New Delhi Science Centre at Pragati Maidan in the heart of the Union Capital. This will not only establish the visibility of Department of Atomic Energy in the national capital, but will also help in spreading public awareness about the kind of work and accomplishments being done by the Indian nuclear scientists.

Giving credit to extraordinary patronage and encouragement to science activities from Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, it was during Prime Minister’s recent visit to Canada that a deal was accomplished to obtain 3000 tons of uranium over the next five years and during his earlier trip to France, a pre-engineering agreement was signed between NPCIL of India and Areva Company of France while another one between Larsen & Toubro and Areva, which would greatly improve India’s capability to develop its own indigenous components and heavy water reactor in line with “Make in India” goal.

It was a coincidence, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, that he was destined to be a part of the Department of Atomic Energy during the year when Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is observing its Diamond Jubilee having been established by the legendary scientist, Dr. Homi J. Bhabha 60 years ago. It is a tribute to Dr. Bhabha and a credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that during the last few months, Department of Atomic Energy has enabled India to assume a leadership role in the Southeast Asia through a series of landmark developments, including an atomic energy agreement with Sri Lanka in February 2015 and very recently last month, the decision to set up tele-therapy facility for cancer patients in Mangolia.

Secretary Department of Atomic Energy Dr. R.K. Sinha, Director BARC Sekhar Basu, CMD NPCIL K.C. Purohit and DG PIB Frank Noronha were also present at the conference.

***

 

[Hindustani78]

Joe Biden to speak on 10th anniv of Indo-US nuke deal | Zee News
Last Updated: Thursday, July 9, 2015 - 11:40


Washington: US Vice President Joe Biden would deliver a keynote speech on India-US relations at an event here hosted by a top American think-tank to mark the tenth anniversary of the historic civilian nuclear deal between the two countries.

"Vice President Biden will speak on the strategic importance of the US-India partnership," the White House said yesterday.

Biden's speech follows a full-day conference at Carnegie Endowment for International Relations on the 10th anniversary of the landmark US-India civil nuclear agreement that will include remarks by Arun K Singh, India's Ambassador to the US, it said.

The event is being hosted jointly by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Carnegie Endowment for International Relations, a top US think-tank.

The day-long conference is likely to be addressed by some of the key architects of the civil nuclear deal.

Prominent among them being the then Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, former Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, the then Indian Ambassador to the US, Ronen Sen; two former foreign secretaries, Shyam Saran and Shivshankar Menon; and former National Security Advisor Stephen J Hadley.

Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Nisha Desai Biswal, would also deliver remarks on the occasion.

A day later, CII is hosting a major conference at the Capitol Hill to release a report titled 'Indian Roots, American Soil' to highlight the investments and contributions of Indian companies in the US, as well as the mutually beneficial bilateral trade relationship.

In addition to heads of Indian companies with large US investment footprints, and Indian Ambassador of India to the US, there will also be a high-level CII CEOs delegation in attendance, led by Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII and Sumit Mazumder, president, CII and Chairman and Managing Director, TIL Limited.

Several top US lawmakers are expected to attend including the co-chairs of the Senate India Caucus, Senator John Cornyn and Senator Mark Warner, as well as Congressman Ami Bera and Congressman George Holding, co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans.

The 'Indian Roots American Soil' would highlight the growing presence of Indian companies in the US.

Indian companies likely to attend the event includes Bank of Baroda, Birlasoft, Cyient, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Essel Propack, Exim Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys, ITC Infotech, Larsen & Tourbo, Mahindra USA, Mindteck, NIIT, Piramal Healthcare, State Bank of India, Sun Pharma, Taj Hotels and Resorts, TATA Communications, TATA Group, TATA Consultancy Services, Torrent Pharma, Wipro and Wockhardt.

PTI