N-liability: Notification of rules should address concerns

NEW DELHI: On the eve of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's talks with US President Barack Obama, the government today said the notification of rules for conduct of nuclear business should address concerns that any foreign company could have on the issue of liability being unlimited or unending.

A day after making public the rules for conduct of nuclear business, official sources said these make it clear that liability cannot be unlimited or unending, a contention that assumes significance in the context of implementation of Indo-US civil nuclear deal.

They underlined that law of the land will have to apply and the notification of the rules only clarifies the situation with regard to payment of compensation to victims in the case of a nuclear accident without waiting for the legal procedures to come into play.

The rules, notified in the backdrop of US insistence on such a step, make it clear that a supplier will be liable in the case of a mishap on account of faulty material but the liability cannot be unlimited and for an unending period.

Significantly, the rules were notified just ahead of the meeting between Singh and Obama in Bali, Indonesia, tomorrow when the issue of implementation of Indo-US civil nuclear deal is expected to figure amid apprehensions among American companies over the liability aspects.

Singh and Obama will be meeting on the sidelines of India-ASEAN Summit and East Asia Summit.