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US wants India to get nuclear liability law cleared by IAEA
Raising “serious concerns” over India’s nuclear liability law, the United States has urged New Delhi to approach the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for a clarification on whether the law is in conformity with the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC).
“There continue to be serious concerns that India’s 2010 nuclear liability law is not consistent with the CSC,” the State Department said on Thursday in reply to a question at the media briefing.
Taking the stand that the IAEA is an appropriate venue for clarification on issues related to the CSC, which deals with international nuclear liability, the State Department said: “The Agency can be helpful in assisting countries in evaluating their compliance with the CSC.”
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Deputy Secretary of State William Burns have brought up this issue prominently in recent days.
Right from the time India enacted the liability law, US industry has been raising serious concerns over its provisions and demanding major changes ahead of deciding whether or not to invest in new Indian civil nuclear projects.
Participating in a FICCI-Brookings Institution dialogue on US-India partnership earlier this week, Burns had said that both Indian and international firms participating in India’s civil nuclear sector need “a nuclear liability regime consistent with international standards”. While welcoming India’s commitment to ratify the Convention on Supplemental Compensation later this year, Burns went on to say: “We encourage India to engage with the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure that India’s liability regime fully conforms with the international requirements under the Convention.”
Secretary Clinton had earlier brought up the issue during a bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister SM Krishna in New York.
Robert Blake, the South Asia point person at the State Department, also brought it up during a public address here on Wednesday, making the point that the US “having expended enormous political capital getting the civil nuclear agreement through Congress, and through the NSG” would want to ensure that US and Indian companies get to benefit from the historic agreement.
“There continue to be serious concerns that India’s 2010 nuclear liability law is not consistent with the CSC,” the State Department said on Thursday in reply to a question at the media briefing.
Taking the stand that the IAEA is an appropriate venue for clarification on issues related to the CSC, which deals with international nuclear liability, the State Department said: “The Agency can be helpful in assisting countries in evaluating their compliance with the CSC.”
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Deputy Secretary of State William Burns have brought up this issue prominently in recent days.
Right from the time India enacted the liability law, US industry has been raising serious concerns over its provisions and demanding major changes ahead of deciding whether or not to invest in new Indian civil nuclear projects.
Participating in a FICCI-Brookings Institution dialogue on US-India partnership earlier this week, Burns had said that both Indian and international firms participating in India’s civil nuclear sector need “a nuclear liability regime consistent with international standards”. While welcoming India’s commitment to ratify the Convention on Supplemental Compensation later this year, Burns went on to say: “We encourage India to engage with the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure that India’s liability regime fully conforms with the international requirements under the Convention.”
Secretary Clinton had earlier brought up the issue during a bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister SM Krishna in New York.
Robert Blake, the South Asia point person at the State Department, also brought it up during a public address here on Wednesday, making the point that the US “having expended enormous political capital getting the civil nuclear agreement through Congress, and through the NSG” would want to ensure that US and Indian companies get to benefit from the historic agreement.
