Under the agreement, India’s public sector General Insurance Company has evaluated each component of the Russian reactors and has prescribed an insurance premium it will charge to cover any compensation Russia has to pay for an accident.
These premiums — for 20 years, the lifetime of the reactors — have then been added to the original cost of the reactors to arrive at the price tag that India will pay. The original cost of the reactors was about $1 billion (Rs 6,000 crore) each — and the delays and the insurance cover have led to the increase in price.
“Sure, ultimately the government of India — that is your taxpayer — is effectively covering the liability, but that is the only way it was ever going to be,” a Russian official said.