Section 6(1) of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act prescribes that the maximum amount of liability in respect of each nuclear incident shall be the rupee equivalent of three hundred million Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). Considering the value of 1 SDR as about Rs.87, three hundred million SDRs are equivalent to about Rs.2610 crore. Section 6(2) of the Act lays down that the operator’s maximum liability shall be Rs.1500 crore. In case the total liability exceeds 1500 crore, as per Section 7 (1) (a) of the CLND Act, this gap of Rs.1110 crore will be bridged by the Central Government. Beyond Rs. 2610 crore, India will be able to access international funds under the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC) once it is a party to that Convention.

For damages exceeding the operators liability of Rs.1500 crore, and in accordance with section 7 (2) of the CLND Act, the government has initiated steps to establish a “Nuclear Liability Fund” by charging such amount of levy from the operators, in such manner, as may be prescribed.

This information was given by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in reply to unstarred question in Lok Sabha