Nuke fueling the economy- the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill "DECODED"

India being a developing nation, has its population growing and so does its energy needs!! With a long list of new n upcoming renewable means to fulfill this need, here comes something right from an  isolated pathway- the NUKE pathway. The Indian nuke program came into existence with the setting up of the first processing plant in 1959, pioneered by Dr. Homi Nusserwanji Sethna . This was the plant which provided the plutonium for India's first nuclear test . Afterwards, the first successful nuclear explosion at Pokran, codenamed 'Smiling Buddha', on May18.1974 was also conducted indigenously. But with the ban put on technology transfer by NSG(nuclear suppliers group) on India in 1998, the nuke program suffered a great setback. The following years were complacent largely driven by indigenous methods and then came the era of prime minister,  Dr. Manmohan Singh, the brain-child behind the Indo-US Nuke deal. With Congress at the centre and Dr. Manmohan  at the helm of affairs, every possible measures (rather desperate measures) were taken to ensure smooth passage of the Civil Nuclear Liability (CNL) Bill. 
A LUCRATIVE MARKET : Although  US stepped in first , many other countries are to follow(countries like Russia, France have already climbed onto this bandwagon). Everyone wants a share of the great Indian Nuke pie .. but why?? A probable reason is that India has something which no-one in the world has . Nuclear reactors around the world are driven by Plutonium or Uranium, both of which are rarely available with Australia enjoying the largest pie of Uranium fuel. But India has a great advantage in this respect. India has Thorium driven reactors which means that the need for Uranium and Plutonium is almost nil. By having US safegaurds for our reactors ,we'll have a global exposure and in turn US will get its hands on our Thorium driven reactors.
BILL AS AN ASSET : The Civil Nuclear Liability Bill is a more of a prised possession for the people of India. This can be said from the very fact that in a world driven by the "suppliers", India has showed the will to   go against them. The bill reinstates a government official at the position of operator and enables him right of recourse against the suppliers in case of any accident or mishap. The liability amount, if proven guilty is 1500 crores (INR) which can be extended further to any unspecified amount. And unlike US, Morocco, Romania and Argentina, India is not a signatory to 1997 Convention on Supplementary Convention(CSC) that protect suppliers from any liability and bars claimants of nuclear damages from moving US courts.
HERE'S THE CATCH :  The Indo-US nuke deal has been touted as a great achievement and has largely been on the grounds of NSG waiver being obtained by the US. Surely the US senate is keeping a close look at the legislation being passed back home(in India) but the main problem comes here. The companies which are said to be a part of this venture : GE-Hitachi and Westinghouse don't firmly have control over there decision to venture into the Indian market. There decisions are partly driven by some Japanese companies as well(Hitachi has a stake of 40% in GE-Hitachi while Toshiba has 80% stake in Westinghouse). This means India will need a NSG waiver from the Japanese side as well. Furthermore, back home, the legislation being passed is full of blemishes and does have a soft side for the suppliers. The 'right to recourse' is awarded to the operator and not to the victim. The prescribed action can only be taken against the supplier only if proved guilt y in the court of law, which at the event of a nuclear disaster/mishap looks quite foolhardy. The meaning of 'right to recourse' is not clear. Whether it means 10 years of litigation or arbitration? There is no absolute liabilty and the supplier is let off for connected but not intentional loss.
SO ..WHATS NEXT?? : With a not-so-convincing legislation being passed back home and the US legislators trying their bit to tweak it, the future lies in the very fact how our government is able to meet the energy need of the masses with such mutually(-cum-partially) beneficial means without making another 'BHOPAL' out of it!!