{"id":114059,"date":"2026-07-20T11:09:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T05:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=114059"},"modified":"2026-07-20T11:09:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T05:39:23","slug":"indias-uranium-quest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/indias-uranium-quest\/","title":{"rendered":"India&#8217;s Uranium Quest: Securing Fuel for Nuclear Power Expansion"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>India&#8217;s Uranium Quest Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has secured a long-term uranium supply deal with Australia, marking a key step toward operationalising the <\/span><b>India-Australia Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, signed nearly 12 years ago.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The deal follows similar <\/span><b>long-term uranium agreements<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with <\/span><b>Canada<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>Kazakhstan<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> signed earlier this year, reflecting India&#8217;s push to diversify and secure fuel supplies for its nuclear power expansion.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the volume of <\/span><b>uranium oxide (yellowcake)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to be supplied and the duration of the agreement have not been disclosed, the deal is part of a broader strategy to secure fuel amid India&#8217;s ambitious nuclear expansion plans.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India&#8217;s Nuclear Power Targets<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India aims to expand its civil nuclear power capacity to <\/span><b>100 gigawatt-electric<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (GWe) by <\/span><b>2047.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last year, the government opened the tightly regulated civil nuclear sector to greater private participation to support this goal.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India&#8217;s Current Uranium Sourcing<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Uranium, though a common element found worldwide, requires several processing stages before becoming usable nuclear fuel: Mining and milling; Conversion; Enrichment (where required); Fuel fabrication.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India&#8217;s indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs), which run on <\/span><b>natural uranium<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, source fuel through a mix of domestic production and imports.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In contrast, <\/span><b>enriched uranium<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> used in India&#8217;s two Light Water Reactor (LWR) plants, <\/span><b>Tarapur <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><b>Kudankulam<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, is <\/span><b>entirely imported<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Domestic reserves<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India&#8217;s uranium oxide reserves stand at around 4<\/span><b>.3 lakh tonnes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, spread across 47 deposits in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Maharashtra.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The state-owned Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) holds the mandate to mine and process uranium, operating major mines at <\/span><b>Jaduguda<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>Turamdih<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Jharkhand) and <\/span><b>Tummalapalle<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Andhra Pradesh).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>The supply gap<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite these reserves, domestic sources meet the uranium requirement for only <\/span><b>2.4 GWe<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> out of <\/span><b>India&#8217;s total 8.7 GWe nuclear<\/b> <b>capacity;<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the rest depends on imports.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Ministry of Power committee, tasked with preparing a roadmap for 100 GW capacity by 2047, estimated that India will <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">need an additional 8,029 tonnes of natural uranium and 1,045 tonnes of enriched uranium annually by 2047<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>The NSG Waiver and Expanding Partnerships<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India&#8217;s ability to import uranium was unlocked in 2008, when the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) granted it a &#8220;clean waiver&#8221;, making <\/span><b>India the only non-signatory<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to enjoy such trading privileges.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Import trends<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Between 2008-09 and 2024-25, India imported a total of 18,842.60 metric tonnes of uranium (as ore concentrate, natural uranium dioxide pellets, and enriched uranium dioxide pellets) for reactors under <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/international-atomic-energy-agency-iaea\/\" target=\"_blank\">IAEA<\/a><\/strong> safeguards.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2024-25, nuclear plants generated 56,631.48 million units of electricity, of which 39,180 million units came from imported uranium.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The estimated requirement of imported natural uranium for operating and proposed safeguarded PHWRs is around 9,000 metric tonnes during 2025-2033.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Current and emerging suppliers<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India currently imports uranium from <\/span><b>Russia and Uzbekistan<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cameco Corp. (<\/span><b>Canada<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) signed a $2.6-billion supply agreement in March; shipments are expected to begin next year.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kazatomprom (<\/span><b>Kazakhstan<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), the <\/span><b>world&#8217;s largest uranium producer<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, agreed in February to sell a substantial volume to India. Both Cameco and Kazatomprom were major suppliers to India until 2020-21.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>France<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> supplied uranium ores and concentrates in 2025-26, while the <\/span><b>US<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> supplied similar imports in 2024-25.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Why India Depends on Imports<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The core reason is economic: mining and processing domestic uranium into ore concentrate costs <\/span><b>three to four times<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> more than importing it internationally, largely due to the <\/span><b>poor grade of uranium ore found in India<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the Ministry of Power committee cautioned that the global push toward nuclear power could drive up international uranium prices in the coming years.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It recommended that India consider <\/span><b>enhancing<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> domestic uranium production, even if costly, to maintain energy security, potentially through additional government equity infusion into UCIL to facilitate its expansion.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India&#8217;s push to diversify uranium imports, from Australia to Canada and Kazakhstan, reflects the reality that domestic reserves alone cannot sustain its 100 GWe nuclear ambition by 2047.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Balancing import dependence with long-term investment in domestic uranium production will be central to ensuring both energy security and the pace of India&#8217;s nuclear expansion.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-economics\/india-australia-uranium-deal-fuel-10793852\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India&#8217;s Uranium Quest focuses on diversifying uranium imports, strengthening domestic production and ensuring fuel security for achieving 100 GWe nuclear capacity by 2047.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":114106,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[8796,60,22,59],"class_list":["post-114059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","tag-indias-uranium-quest","tag-mains-articles","tag-upsc-current-affairs","tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs-tag","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114059"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114105,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114059\/revisions\/114105"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}