Russia in-principle agreed on India's nuclear liability law

Russia on 10 June 2014 in-principle agreed on the Indian nuclear liability law. The agreement paved the way for signing of the contract for Unit 3 and 4 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in July 2014.

Earlier in April 2014, India and Russia signed a General Framework Agreement on Unit 3 and 4 of KNPP after crossing the initial hurdle posed by the Civil Liability Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act 2010. Though the Agreement was to be signed in October 2013 during the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Moscow. However, it was not signed due to Russia raising certain objection over some clauses of the CLND Act, 2010.

On 8 June 2014, Unit 1 of the KKNPP became the first nuclear power plant to attain 100% capacity of 1000 MW. The Unit 2 of KNPP will start generating power from 2014. Units 1 and 2 of KKNPP based on Tamil Nadu have been built with the help of Russian assistance at the cost of 17200 crore rupees.
 
About Civil Liability Nuclear Damage Act 2010
Civil Liability Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act 2010 passed by the Parliament in August 2010 limits the liability of the operator in case of nuclear incident. It secures the operator the right to recourse under certain circumstances.

Apart from this, the CLND Act also provided a mechanism to compensate victims of nuclear damage. The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Rules was notified under the Act on 11 November 2011. The Rules stipulate certain mandatory clauses for contracts that secure the operator the right to recourse. They also prescribe the procedure to provide compensation to victims in case of nuclear incidents.