India in 2010 passed a law making suppliers of nuclear reactors and other equipment liable for any accidents. This spooked companies that wanted to sell nuclear technology as the standard international practice is to hold plant operators responsible. The law made companies such as Westinghouse, an American unit of Japan’s Toshiba Corp., cautious on signing supply deals even years after a 2008 civil nuclear agreement between New Delhi and Washington ended a moratorium on nuclear-related trade with India. Local media last month reported that the government may dilute the nuclear-liability law in order to push through the deal with Westinghouse. The options included allowing Nuclear Power Corp. to drop from the contract its right to claim compensation from the manufacturer, they reported. Murli Manohar Joshi of the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party told the Press Trust of India news agency recently that the government was sacrificing the interests of the country to help U.S. companies. “No compromise of any kind has been made,” said the official at the Department of Atomic Energy. “All these reports are false.” The initial contract between the two companies covering preliminary regulatory and site-development work for a planned complex in the western state of Gujarat was signed during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the U.S. Once the preliminary work is complete, the two companies would need clearances from the Department of Atomic Energy as well as the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board before proceeding with a commercial contract for the supply of equipment and construction of the reactor……
Posted on: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 17:33:09 +0000
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