This month Hogan Lovells partners Amy Roma and Ajay Kuntamukkala presented at the International Nuclear Law Association’s (INLA’s) Annual Congress in New Delhi, India. They presented on the Iranian Nuclear Deal and implications for U.S. businesses.
India was chosen to host this year’s INLA Congress in part because of the great strides the country has taken in growing its civilian nuclear power industry while at the same time trying to build ties with the international nuclear power community. India took significant steps this year towards fostering foreign participation in the Indian nuclear power program.
In February, India signed the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC), a critical international nuclear liability agreement that both ensures compensation to individuals in the case of a nuclear incident, while also setting clear rules and norms to ease innovation. The CSC took effect for India on May 4, 2016. Later, in June 2016, the India Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP) issued its first insurance policy for nuclear power plant operators, and launched a supplier policy a few months later. The INIP provides coverage for operators and suppliers arising from third-party liability, and was established in response to India’s 2010 nuclear liability law, which requires nuclear plant operators to maintain financial protection for third party nuclear liability. The nuclear liability law has also created some controversy within the nuclear industry as to whether it aligns with international standards. On November 11, Japan and India signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement to allow Japanese companies to export Japanese nuclear technology and material to India.
India has the potential to be a leader in the civilian nuclear industry, and the recent developments are steps towards actualizing that potential. For more about nuclear power in India, or the global nuclear energy industry in general, please contact the authors.