CB BureauThe international covenant Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC) was signed by India at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) office in Vienna.
India’s ambassador to Austria Dinkar Khullar completed the formalities.
CSC provides a framework for channelling liability and providing speedy compensation in the event of a nuclear accident. The IAEA is the ‘depository’ of the CSC, which has so far been signed by 14 countries and ratified by four, including the United States.
The development delivers on the last of its commitments that stemmed from the landmark 2005 nuclear agreement with the United States. India promised the US in 2008 that it would sign the CSC, a treaty that requires signatories to pass a domestic liability law in conformity with a model text. Washington’s aim was to ensure that its companies were legally exempted from any liability burden in the event of an accident occurring in an American-supplied nuclear reactor.
The CSC would establish a global legal regime for the compensation of victims in case of a nuclear accident.
It also includes provisions on a nuclear operator’s financial liability and requires that operators maintain insurance or other financial security measures.
On commercial fronts, the stage is now set for the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd to begin negotiations with US-based General Electric and Westinghouse for supply of two 1,000 MWe reactors.
The entry of these firms was uncertain as they wanted India to provide more clarity on compensation liability for private operators.