After months of hectic negotiations and wrangling, the Lok Sabha passed the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010 through voice vote. The House also adopted 18 amendments to the Bill moved by the government .These include raising the liability cap of the operative from 500 crore rupees to 1500 crore rupees. The amendments also included the change of language in clause 17 relating to the suppliers' liability of nuclear installations in case of accidents. The government dropped the word ‘intent’ in the clause which had been objected to by the BJP and the LEFT. The opposition had argued that it was impossible to prove intent on the part of suppliers or their employees in case of an accident. Earlier intervening in the debate, the Prime Minister said that the Bill in a way completes the journey to end India’s nuclear apartheid .He also dismissed the allegation that the bill is aimed at promoting American interest. He said that to say that government has compromised with the India's national interest would be a travesty of facts. Sharing the concerns of some members that nuclear energy can be misused, Dr. Manmohan Singh admitted that utilisation of nuclear energy is a serious issue and safety must receive utmost care and attention. Dr. Singh asserted that atomic power was the ‘viable’ option which could not be ignored and the legislation would enable India to widen this option by undertaking nuclear commerce with the world. Later replying to the debate on the bill, the Science and Technology Minister, Prithviraj Chavan assured the House that India's Nuclear Research Programme will not be compromised. r He also said that India will start its own programme for building large nuclear reactors. Initiating the debate, Jaswant Singh of the BJP asked the government to take the larger concerns of Indians on board and not those of a 'smaller' US market. He also alleged the government was trying to 'hustle' through with the legislation ahead of the US President Barack Obama's visit to India. Our correspondent says that the Bill was passed after the government addressed most of the concerns of the opposition.