With a growing nuclear power programme, it is essential for India to enact a legislation which covers all aspects of civil liability in a transparent manner In the unlikely event of an accident, the operator liability is absolute in international practice. This ensures timely availability and disbursement of compensation to the victims. Bearing in mind that the major accidents in the past were mainly due to gross error on the part of operations personnel, there should be a renewed emphasis on operators’ education and training. The amount of liability proposed is comparable to the provisions prevailing in several other countries, but should be periodically revised as the programme expands. If India were to sign the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC), which is in its interest, additional contributions from other states parties to the convention would become available.
