New Delhi: In a gentle reminder to India that
its civil nuclear liability law should be compatible, the US
today said there are "couple of issues" about the legislation
raised by the US companies and it would be "wise" for the
country to ensure consistency between its regulations and that
of other countries.
"India has to make its own decision but in making decision
it will be wise for India to look at the practices of other
countries and ensure its regulations and its laws are
consistent with those of other countries," Robert Hormats,
Under Secretary of State for economic, energy and agricultural
affairs, said during a question-answer session after a
function.
He said there were couple of issues raised about the
legislation by the US government by American companies and
also other foreign companies, including some Indian companies.
Last week in Washington, State Department spokesman P J
Crowley said that the US would look to India to see what
"changes" can be made to the Nuclear Liability Bill just
passed by Parliament in the wake of concerns over making
suppliers of equipment also liable in the event of a nuclear
accident.
"We continue our discussions with the Indian Government on
this issue and we note that Indian business leaders are
concerned about some specific aspects of the law that was just
passed by Parliament," Crowley said in the first reaction by
the Obama Administration to some controversial provisions in
the Bill.
"We will look to the Indian Government to see what changes
can be made," Crowley told reporters in response to a question
on the US business being reportedly unhappy on some aspects of
the liability law.
The liability legislation was a vital step to clear the
decks for the full implementation of the historic Indo-US
civil nuclear deal.
On August 30, Parliament had adopted the nuclear liability
bill with the government insisting that the compensation
package for victims matches that of the US and it was still
open to accommodate some suggestions.
Sources here are maintaining that the provisions of the
Legislation were compatible with international standards.
PTI
