By IANS
New Delhi : The Indian cabinet Thursday may discuss the issue of amendments to the country’s Atomic Energy Act, 1962 which could facilitate the entry of private players into nuclear power generation.
“Discussion on proposed amendments to the act is on the agenda for the cabinet meet,” a reliable source told IANS Wednesday.
It is not yet clear whether the cabinet will discuss amendments proposed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani to offset the impact of the Hyde Act on India’s bilateral 123 civil nuclear agreement with the US.
Advani has suggested India’s domestic nuclear laws can be amended to assert its right to nuclear testing and that the 123 agreement will have no impact on strategic agreements with other countries.
The Atomic Energy Act, 1962 allows nuclear power generation only by a central government company.
The government is keen to align the act with the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials, 1980, which India signed and ratified in 2002. The government also wants to align the Atomic Energy Act with certain provisions of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Act, which was passed by parliament in 2005.