File photo: US President Barack Obama with Prime Minister Narendra Modi
A meeting of US and Indian officials in London has been extended by a day, sources said, as the two countries attempt to achieve a breakthrough on the nuclear liability issue during President Barack Obama's visit beginning Sunday.
A joint contact group which was set up after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trip to the US in September, had at the last minute extended its latest round of talks by one more day, sources said, indicating that there has been progress.
The group is looking to address differences between the two sides on nuclear liability.
India and the United States had signed a landmark civilian nuclear deal in 2008. Holding up potential trade of billions of dollars in nuclear energy is India's liability law, which holds the suppliers directly liable in case of a nuclear accident.
The US wants India to follow global norms under which the primary liability is with the operator, in this case the Indian government.
There are also differences over an "unlimited liability" clause in the law, which makes it difficult for international companies to find insurers. The two sides are working on a proposal for an insurance pool made up of domestic Indian companies to offset the financial burden of American companies.
The US also wants clarifications on a section of the law which they read to mean that US companies could face tort claims or that they could be sued by victims of an accident directly.
In 2009, India had allotted locations in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat for the US companies Westinghouse and GE for nuclear power plants, but no work has started on either.
The contact group has representatives from these companies and from India's Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd or NPCIL.