Insurance cover for nuclear accidents likely

NEW DELHI: Insurance regulator IRDA is in the early stages of drafting a regulation for covering nuclear accidents.

The move assumes significance as India is expected to be a major player in this sector after its nuclear deal with US is operationalised.

"We are in early stages (of the regulation). This thing involves large amount of risks. We will have to first constitute a pool which will be a member of the larger global pool (of nuclear accident insurance). That is yet to be figured out," Irda Chairman J Hari Narayan said.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the IBAI summit here, he also said that the reinsurer General Insurance Corporation ( GIC) is working on the details to provide insurance protection to such accidents.

It is felt that the ambitious programme expected under the Indo-US nuclear deal may not materialise to the desired extent unless there is insurance protection for nuclear accidents.

According to US-India Business Council (USIBC) the Indo-US nuclear deal could open up investment opportunities to the tune of USD 500 billion over the next decade.

As of now, nuclear power accounts for just three per cent share of the total power produced in India from different sources. However, by 2020 this source is expected to provide 20,000 MW of power against little over 4,000 MW currently.