He blinked and all others bowed down. This is how Uncle Sam has dominated over the rest of the world. Being the greatest supplier of nuclear energy, America has never hesitated in asserting their supremacy and we have yet another example to prove this fact.
When India showed their disinterest in amending Section 17(b) of the Civil Nuclear Liability and Damages Act, 2010, America didn't give a favourable reaction. This statement of the law has been an obstacle in the alliance between NPCIL(Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited) and Westinghouse Electric house company based in the US. The US firm claims that this section is not in conformity with the international norms which boldly state that the loss in case of an accident has to born by the operator. They stand by their opinion that no provision will take place unless the clauses are relaxed. This friction seems to add to the already persisting and existing disgruntlement between the two trade partners.
Apart from America, Russia too is the new nuclear giant at par with US. In its biggest-ever endeavour, Russia has made floating nuclear plants which are 35-megawatt generators and will supply power to remote arctic communities directly from the ship. This unique innovation can save developing countries like India from acute power shortages in future. But alas! India has gained an 'non-nuclear friendly' image amongst its superiors despite India gaining a new face on the world map due to the reasonably high growth it has shown. This small section in our law has repelled all of the very few nuclear power suppliers in US, Russia and France. Due to this, our policymakers are now hassled and plan to revisit the provisions of the law. What is even worse is that our respected Attorney general has suggested dilution of the law saying that the validation of this section can be made selective. Some policymakers fear to oppose the major nuclear power and see the impending danger that comes with it! The warning is loud and clear! If we wish to maintain our reputation in the world economy, we must remember not to compromise on our principles as per the orders of the big giants (highly developed nations).
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This is where I feel India must not turn weak and instead play the role of the aggressor. I agree that we require this resource to fulfill both purposes especially when the rest of the world seems to be getting abreast with it at a fast pace. But does that mean that we risk our statutes and legislatures just to appease the nuclear giants? Knowing the past tragedies that India has witnessed with foreign suppliers in Indian industry (like the Bhopal Gas incident), this section in my opinion is absolutely just and fair. Even today, the real culprits of the Bhopal incident are Scott-free. We must not let external pressure force us to give in. Barack Obama in his speech said that USA being the only nuclear power, has a moral responsibility to act while using the nuclear resource. Why are the morals and ethics vanishing now? If USA is so sure about the nuclear energy supplied by them to developing countries, then they must not hesitate in signing up for the law!
The oft-quoted line by all N-deals signed is that with the diminishing natural resources, nuclear energy is the magic key to the future. We have still not been able to tap our nuclear potential. India's nuclear energy self-sufficiency extended from uranium exploration through fuel fabrication and heavy water production to reprocessing and waste management. Our first Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), finalised in 1964, was built as a collaborative venture between Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL) and NPCIL. Not only this, we have recently received a green signal for the infamous Kudankulam plant which has been the reason for the persistent tensions between the government and the PMANE (People's movement against nuclear energy). While we feel happy about these colourful feathers in our cap, there are stark loopholes that make the future of nuclear energy hazy.
In the hope that India would soon be nuclear-empowered, I feel that we must not let international demands of the suppliers bother us. To conclude, Michael Burgess calls this source of energy : "environmentally responsible source of energy", but the operator and supplier need to be equally (or maybe even more) responsible !
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