Help in augmenting nuclear power generation
The Nuclear Insurance Policy declared by the New India Assurance (NIA) for 21 nuclear reactors currently under Nuclear Power Corporation of India limited (NPCIl) is one of the first in its kind in the history of the country's nuclear energy. This insurance cover for a premium of Rs100 crore will mark a significant leap in the nation's ambitious march to become one of a few nuclear powers in the world. This policy can be a big boost in kicking off more operations by all the nuclear reactors on their own.
India, a country which badly needs nuclear insurance now can attract foreign nuclear plant and technology suppliers both from the US and European countries particularly which are long awaiting the country's formal declaration of insurance in this sector. It is sad that a country which aspires for its seat in the top nuclear clubs like that of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and had its first nuclear power plant way back in 1960s, till date has no nuclear insurance for both operators and suppliers. Only in 2010, that India had come up with its first law on Civil liability for Nuclear Damage Act (ClNDA) after much wrangling among the opposition parties in Parliament.
In fact, the NIP was cleared by the NPCIl three weeks ago under the India Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP) which was set in June 2015 to address liability issues related to both operators and suppliers in nuclear power plants. But unlike the snail's pace that the earlier United Progressive Alliance Government took, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led National Democratic Alliance has embarked on a fast track mode to immediately set up a Rs1500 crore insurance pool by stressing the nuclear liability issue.
And now the NIA insurance will first cover the hot zones for all the existing plants, and there will be a separate cover for the suppliers. It is a welcome sign that finally a much awaited NIP and an insurance corpus fund are being created. This will go a long way in actualizing the NPCIl's mandate to produce 63,000 megawatts of power by 2032 from 5,780 megawatts at the moment.
It is time now to step up efforts to enhance nuclear power generating capacity from the current bare minimum as the demand for a stable and sustained source of power is the key to augment the country's mega projects in infrastructure and development sectors. With this India needs to move faster in building more nuclear reactors in the immediate future to bridge the gap of acute power crunch across the country and it would lessen the dependence on fossil fuels and help reducing Greenhouse emissions.
Under Modi, the Government had quickly submitted its instrument of ratification for the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage with the UN's nuclear watchdog in February. Therefore, with the NIP addressing the third party liability insurance under the ClNDA to start with may later expand it into property and other risk factors in the hot zones. Notably, the recent incident of heavy water leakage at the Kakrapara Atomic Power Station has largely shaped the NIP and it has come towards the implementation stage. A country which is reshaping its global power status under the current dispensation of Modi must see that another Bhopal Gas tragedy never recur.