By Manish Chand, IANS,
On Board Air India One : Ahead of his meeting with US President Barack Obama in Bali next week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday said the government will place before parliament rules and procedures relating to the civil nuclear liability regime in the winter session of parliament starting later this month.
“We will place before parliament rules and procedures relating to the civil nuclear liability law in the next session of parliament,” he told reporters on board his special aircraft while returning from the SAARC summit in the Maldives.
“It’s only after that will we know the American position,” Manmohan Singh replied when asked whether the US was satisfied with India’s civil nuclear liability regime.
The US has made it clear that India’s civil nuclear liability law will have to be brought in conformity with international conventions and the current regime imposed a heavy burden on the operators of nuclear plants in India.
Manmohan Singh and Obama will meet in Bali Nov 18 on the sidelines of the 18-nation East Asia summit and will discuss an entire gamut of issues, including ways to fast-track their landmark nuclear deal and issues relating to nuclear liability. They will also discuss issues relating to the evolving East Asia architecture and security of the Indian Ocean, a strategic resource-rich region where China is making rapid inroads.