Govt sets up Rs 1500 crore insurance pool to boost nuclear industry

News:

• The government has launched an insurance pool to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore which is mandatory under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage(CLND) Act n a bid to offset financial burden of foreign nuclear suppliers.
• Clauses in the CLND Act, which give the operator the Right to Recourse and allow it to sue the suppliers in case of any accident were seen as being a major hindrance to the growth of the nuclear industry.

Benefits:

• Under the Rs 1,500 crore pool, set up by General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) and 11 other non-life insurers including New India, Oriental Insurance, National Insurance and United India Insurance from the public sector apart from private insurance companies, policies offered will be a nuclear operators liability insurance policy and a nuclear suppliers’ special contingency (against right to recourse) insurance policy.
• This will address the concern of the suppliers like that of the Gorakhpur Haryana project and also of foreign players.
• It would also help in bringing North Indian states into the fold of the nuclear industry and this would give a pan-Indian image.
• The pool would help the government in achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of tripling energy generation from nuclear sector in the next five years.

Source: ET