{"id":91086,"date":"2026-03-05T12:40:53","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T07:10:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=91086"},"modified":"2026-03-05T12:40:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T07:10:53","slug":"canada-uranium-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/canada-uranium-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada Uranium Deal: Fueling India\u2019s Nuclear Power Expansion"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Canada Uranium Deal Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India and Canada have signed an agreement for the long-term supply of uranium to fuel India\u2019s nuclear reactors. Under the deal, Canadian company Cameco will supply about 22 million pounds (around 10,000 tonnes) of uranium to India between 2027 and 2035. The contract is valued at about 2.6 billion Canadian dollars.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is India\u2019s <\/span><b>second<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> major uranium supply agreement within a month. Earlier, India finalised a similar deal with Kazakhstan\u2019s state-owned company Kazatomprom, though details of that contract have not been disclosed.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These agreements are significant for India\u2019s plans to greatly expand nuclear power generation and increase nuclear energy capacity more than tenfold by 2047.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India\u2019s Dependence on Imported Uranium<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although India has uranium deposits, the <\/span><b>quality of its ore is relatively low<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The uranium concentration in Indian mines ranges between <\/span><b>0.02 and 0.45 per cent<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is far lower than the global average of 1\u20132 per cent.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In comparison, some mines in Canada contain uranium concentrations as high as 15 per cent.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because of the lower ore quality, extracting uranium in India is more expensive than importing it.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Growing Reliance on Imports<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Due to these limitations, more than 70 per cent of India\u2019s uranium needs are currently met through imports.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, domestic production still plays an important role.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It supports India\u2019s nuclear weapons programme and provides a buffer in case global supply chains are disrupted.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Expansion of Domestic Production<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India is increasing domestic uranium production to support the planned expansion of nuclear energy.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government aims to raise nuclear power capacity from about 9 GW today to <\/span><b>100 GW by 2047.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite this expansion, domestic production is expected to meet only around 30 per cent of the fuel requirements of nuclear power plants in the future.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Rising Uranium Demand<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India currently consumes about 1,500\u20132,000 tonnes of uranium each year. In 2025, the country\u2019s requirement was about 1,884 tonnes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the expansion of nuclear power, annual uranium demand could rise to about <\/span><b>5,400 tonnes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even then, only around 30 per cent of this demand is likely to be met through domestic production.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Domestic Uranium Resources and Production<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s uranium production is mainly concentrated in <\/span><b>Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, where <\/span><b>seven mines<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are currently operational.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Uranium deposits are also found in states such as Meghalaya, Rajasthan, and Telangana.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s total uranium resources are estimated at about <\/span><b>4.3 lakh tonnes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of uranium ore.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More than 80,000 tonnes are located in mines allocated to the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), and about 40 per cent of these reserves have already been extracted.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Explorations are ongoing in nearly 15 states to identify new deposits.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Expanding and Diversifying India\u2019s Uranium Supply<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New uranium supply agreements, including the recent deal with the Canadian company Cameco, aim to diversify India\u2019s import sources and meet rising nuclear fuel demand.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The agreement with Canada also reflects improving bilateral relations after a period of diplomatic tensions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Longstanding Nuclear Cooperation with Canada<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India and Canada have had nuclear cooperation since the 1950s. One early example was the CIRUS reactor, a joint India\u2013Canada project.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Canada also helped establish reactors at the Rajasthan Atomic Power Project in the 1960s.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cameco has previously supplied uranium to India, including during 2020\u201321.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Multiple Global Supply Sources<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the new agreement, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India now imports uranium from several countries, including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Canada, and Russia<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Russia has also committed to long-term fuel supply for reactors at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India may further expand supply partnerships with countries such as Australia and the United States.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indian companies are also exploring opportunities to mine uranium in other countries to strengthen long-term energy security.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India\u2019s Three-Stage Nuclear Programme<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India aims to develop a three-stage nuclear power programme that will ultimately rely on thorium rather than uranium.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The country possesses <\/span><b>large thorium reserves<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which makes this approach attractive for long-term energy security and independence.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, achieving this goal requires specialised nuclear reactors based on technologies that are proven but not yet widely used.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>First Stage: Uranium-Based Reactors<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; The nuclear reactors currently operating in India represent the first stage of the programme. These reactors primarily use uranium as fuel and produce plutonium as a by-product for the next stage.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Second Stage: Fast-Breeder Reactors<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; The second stage involves fast-breeder reactors that use plutonium produced in the first stage. India has taken a major step toward this stage with a prototype fast-breeder reactor at Kalpakkam, which is nearing operational status.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Third Stage: Thorium-Fuelled Reactors<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; The final stage aims to deploy reactors that use thorium as the main fuel. This stage is still some distance away and will require advanced technological development.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Slow Progress Despite Early Vision<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India conceived the three-stage nuclear programme in the 1950s and remains the only country pursuing this model.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, progress has been slow, and full realisation of the programme is still a long-term objective.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/canada-uranium-deal-key-to-indias-expansion-plans-10563745\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstpost.com\/explainers\/why-india-canada-uranium-deal-is-important-13985566.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">FP<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Canada Uranium Deal will supply fuel for India\u2019s nuclear reactors and support its plan to expand nuclear power capacity to 100 GW by 2047 while strengthening global uranium supply partnerships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":91065,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[5856,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-91086","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-canada-uranium-deal","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91086","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=91086"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91114,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91086\/revisions\/91114"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}