A window left open for private players

The Parliamentary panel report on the nuclear liability Bill had made a categorical assertion that “there will be no private operation of nuclear installations.”However, changes recommended by the panel to keep the private sector out actually open a window for private players to have up to 49 per cent stake in nuclear projects.

As against the definition of an operator in the original Bill, where an operator was defined as any person so designated by the Central Government, the parliamentary panel report, after taking on board the views expressed by key Opposition parties against the entry of private players into the sector, brought the definition of the operator in line with that given in the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.

It went on to recommend the insertion of a specific clause in the legislation stating the “the Bill applies only to nuclear installations owned and controlled by the Central Government, either by itself or through any authority or corporation established by it or a Government company, as defined in the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.”

The Atomic Energy Act prescribes that a company in which not less than 51 per cent of the paid-up share capital is held by the Central Government can operate nuclear stations. This keeps the prospect of joint ventures between private and government companies, provided the Government holds the majority stake.

It is a different matter that the Government has not announced any plans for forming such joint venture companies, but the option of doing so in the future is always there with the Government.