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“We have pursued some overseas players and have received good response. We are seeking their response on how to go about it.

“We are also pursuing private sector companies… Six companies came with Rs 150 crore. Now, it has become 900 crore. We are putting all our efforts into raising the remaining Rs 600 crore for operationalising the pool,” said Y Ramulu, GM of General Insurance Corporation (GIC) of India.

The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, prescribes that the nuclear insurance pool be made operational with funds of Rs 1,500 crore.

Clauses in the Act which give the operator the Right to Recourse and allow it to sue the suppliers in case of any accident were seen as being a major hindrance to the growth of the nuclear industry. These concerns led to to the formation of the Indian nuclear insurance pool. ……

Ramulu said that the six domestic companies are: ICICI Lombard, Reliance General Insurance, SBI General Insurance, Iffco Tokio, MS Cholamandalam and Universal Sompo General Insurance have together pooled in Rs 150 crore until now.

The government was also initially toying with the idea of a catastrophe bond, but Ramulu said that may not take off anytime soon. ……

Catastrophe bonds emerged out of a need by insurance companies to alleviate some of the risk they would face if a major catastrophe occurred as that would involve clearing damages which they could not cover by the premiums and returns from investments using those. The concept of catastrophe bond is seen in the US and Europe.

Sources said the government may throw in sovereign guarantee to address the concerns of foreign suppliers over the nuclear liability law.