Washington: Putting the onus on India,
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday said the US has made
clear the steps New Delhi needs to take "to allow us to move
forward" on implementation of bilateral civil nuclear deal.
"We remain fully committed to expanding the civil nuclear
cooperation with India and have made clear the steps that
India needs to take to allow us to move forward," she said
when asked if India`s nuclear liability bill was an irritant
in the bilateral relations.
Without directly responding to the question, Clinton
mentioned two specific steps India needs to take -- ratify the
Convention of Supplementary Compensation (CSC) for nuclear
damages and engage with the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) to ensure that the liability regime conforms with the
international norms.
India`s liability regime has been a bone of contention
between it and many of its nuclear partners, including the US,
which have expressed reservations about some aspects of the
domestic law that they fear will impose huge penalty on
foreign suppliers in case of nuclear accidents.
However, Indian officials have maintained that the law
was in accordance with international standards but India was
ready to allay any apprehension in this regard.
The officials also maintain that New Delhi was well on
its way to ratify the CSC by this year end.
Clinton emphasised Washington`s commitment on the issue
by citing the recent Nuclear Safety Energy Summit in Mumbai,
"where you saw a host of top-tier American companies working
to expand our private engagement and investment in the civil
nuclear sector."
PTI
