Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today said, there is adequate and sufficient insurance coverage offered for nuclear incidents in the country.
In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Dr Jitendra Singh said, India has enacted Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act 2010 to provide for civil liability for nuclear damage and prompt compensation to the victims of a nuclear incident through a no-fault liability regime channelling liability to the operator.
Under the Act, the operator has to maintain insurance or financial securities or a combination of both, for covering his liability in respect of the nuclear incident. The Act also limits the liability of the nuclear operator for each nuclear incident.
The Minister informed that without any Insurance or financial securities, the nuclear operator cannot operate the nuclear facilities, and the operator is also mandated to renew the insurance policy or financial securities from time to time, before the expiry of the period of validity.
The liability of an operator for each nuclear incident is–
(i) in respect of nuclear reactors having thermal power equal to or above ten MW, rupees one thousand five hundred crores;
(ii) in respect of spent fuel reprocessing plants, rupees three hundred crores;
(iii) in respect of the research reactors having thermal power below ten MW, fuel cycle facilities other than spent fuel reprocessing plants, and transportation of nuclear materials, rupees one hundred crores.
India Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP) was set up with GIC-re, and several other Indian insurance companies with a capacity of 1500 Crore on 12th June, 2015 to provide insurance to cover the liability as prescribed under CLND act, 2010. In addition to providing coverage for operators’ liability, the INIP will also address liability-related concerns of suppliers (Both Domestic and Foreign). GIC-Re along with Several other Indian insurance companies are currently the participants in the insurance pool.
Under the CLND Act 2010, the Central Government may review the amount of the operator's liability from time to time and may specify, by notification, a higher amount for compensation, if deemed necessary.
India has also ratified Convention for Supplementary Compensation (CSC) in 2016. CSC offers a two-tier system w.r.t the amount of compensation, e.g., Installation state to ensure availability of the amount of compensation at least three hundred million SDR, and international fund for which all contracting parties obliged to contribute the amount based on a formula for calculation of contribution.
It aims at increasing the amount of compensation available in the event of a nuclear incident through public funds to be made available by the Contracting Parties on the basis of their installed nuclear capacity and UN rate of assessment.