LS okays opening up nuclear sector to private players

The tough provisions of India's nuclear liability laws led to “silent phobia” among industry, prompting the government to bring a new comprehensive bill to address their concerns and open up the atomic energy sector for private participation, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said Wednesday.

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Singh was replying to a discussion in the Lok Sabha that passed the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill by a voice vote amid a walk out by the opposition.

The Opposition contended that the government was putting citizens in harm by allowing suppliers of nuclear equipment to escape the liability net in case of a nuclear accident.

“The government will deal only with the operator, it is upon the operator to deal with the supplier," Singh, the Minister of State in the PMO, who oversees the Department of Atomic Energy, told the Lok Sabha.

He said the operator liability has been rationalised through graded caps linked to reactor size to encourage newer technologies such as small modular reactors.

The minister said the bill seeks to ensure full compensation to affected persons through a multilayered mechanism.