Why India did not sign commercial agreement with nuclear suppliers during Trump visit

March 23, 2020

New Delhi: With all the focus on the Coronavirus outbreak, a Public Accounts Committee(PAC) report on action taken on India’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Board didin’nt get much attention. The report actually raises serious question about India’s ambitious plan for future expansion of clean energy.

The report may throw light on implementation of nuclear energy expansion with many countries, including the US. Why India could not sign commercial agreement with the suppliers during the recent visit of US President Donald Trump can be assessed from this document.

The report of the PAC, led by Lok Sabha Congress party leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, tabled in the current Budget session, suggests India did not follow the International guidelines for making the nuclear authority an Independent body. In the action taken note, the Government has conceded that a nuclear liability law is being prepared in line with the International norms.

Interestingly the Government of India took almost four and half years to submit action taken report on “activities of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board(AERB) “.The original Ninenth report of PAC had been tabled in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on December 9, 2013. Action taken notes in respect of all observations and recommendations were to be submitted by the Department of Atomic Energy within stipulated six months of presentation. In this case, the last date was 9th July 2014. The committee has noted with concern that after series of correspondence, the notes were furnished ” in the first instance by the office of the C&AG vide their letter dated 25.09.2018 and then by the DAE vide their letter dated 08.01.2019.

PAC in their report has found that while countries like Australia, Canada,France and USA had already conferred legal status to their neuclear regualting bodies by enacting appropriate laws in recognition for independent and empowered regulatory bodies as recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the legal status of AERB of India remains that of a mere subordinate authority, with powers delegate to it by the Government of India.The committee observed that the failure to have an autonomous regulator was clearly fraught with grave risks as brought out clearly in the report of Fukushima nuclear accident independent investigation commission.

The Government came out with an explanation that as nuclear saftey authority bill of 2011 was subjected to objections in the standing committee, the Government prepared a new bill to be tabled in 2015 which was subsequently withdrawn as Dr R V Grover member atomic energy commission was studying the bill at the moment.

The committee in its latest action taken report strongly criticised that DAE for delaying the finalisation of the bill.”they would like to impress upon the Government that being an independent regulator, IAEA would solicit international cooperation in nuclear energy field, which is in consonance with the guidelines of IAEA.”
–India News Stream