Is Indo-US nuclear deal jinxed?

Even after 12 years since a nuclear framework agreement was signed by the then India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the then US President George W Bush, the famed Indo-US nuclear deal seems jinxed. After China threw spanners in India's entry into the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and protracted negotiations on nuclear liability clauses, a big shock has come with the news that Westinghouse Electric, a US firm, owned by Japanese Toshiba has filed for bankruptcy with $9.8 billion in liabilities. Reportedly, Toshiba has also posted a $6.2 billion loss in nuclear-business.

The firm was supposed to set up six nuclear reactors in Andhra Pradesh in partnership with the state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). The deal was kept hanging, since the nuclear reactor manufacturers had refused to accept the liability clause incorporated in nuclear legislation adopted by the Parliament. PM Modi and President Obama ended this uncertainty just two years ago over two important aspects - inspections and liability for a nuclear accident. The two sides had agreed to "work toward finalising the contractual arrangements by June 2017".

India agreed to stricter checks by the International Atomic Energy Agency and in return, the US dropped its insistence on tracking fuel consignments. On liability in case of an accident at a nuclear power plant, India, seared by the Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984, made it clear that a plant operator will be responsible for costs and compensation, but will have secondary recourse against a supplier or equipment provider.

Since the nuclear reactor supplier had been taken over by a Japanese firm, since the Indo-US nuclear agreement rolled out, a nuclear cooperation agreement was signed in Tokyo in November 2016. But it is yet to be ratified by Diet (Japanese Parliament).

Officials at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said they were monitoring developments right from awaiting a ratification from Japanese parliament to the latest news from Westinghouse. "Our intent is to stick to the deadline, for which competitive financing arrangements need to be in place," they said. The officials, however, drew satisfaction that there was a positive outlook either from governments or global players to cooperate with India on nuclear commerce.

In a bid to end uncertainty, PM Modi had agreed to create a state-backed insurance pool to cover liability up to Rs 1,500 crore. Any recourse sought by the operator against a supplier could not exceed this figure. The India-US deal was meant to address India's energy issues, generate nuclear commerce by allowing New Delhi access the nuclear technology and fuel without giving up its weapons programme.

Current US President Donald Trump, who spoke on phone to PM Modi on Tuesday did assure that his country would continue supporting India's bid for membership in the NSG, to help it to get easy access to nuclear technology. Replying to a question in Parliament on Wednesday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said India was engaged with the NSG members individually. She said that India has received support from a diverse and large number of members, including the United States, France, United Kingdom, the Russian Federation, Canada, Australia, Germany, Belgium, Republic of Korea, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, and Japan.