Australia okays uranium exports to India
India intends to boost its nuclear capacity to 63,000 MW by 2032 by installing a total of 30 reactors at an approximate cost of $85 billionEnding over a year-long negotiation on uranium exports to India, Australia has finalised an agreement allowing the energy-starved country to begin import of the fuel to meet its energy production requirement. “The Australia-India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement permits Australian companies to commence commercial uranium exports to India. This Agreement provides the framework for substantial new trade in energy between Australia and India,” Australia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Uranium imports from Australia will help India generate enough electricity to meet its ever-rising domestic demand for energy. “The administrative arrangements have been signed and uranium exports can begin immediately,” the ministry said. This breakthrough decision came on November 25, days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull announced the conclusion of the bilateral nuclear safeguard agreements. The nuclear deal was completed on November 15 when the two Prime Ministers met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey. Australia's then Prime Minister Tony Abbott, during his state visit to India in September last year, had signed an agreement to supply uranium to India. The two countries resumed talks on the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement in 2012 after Australia lifted a ban on uranium supplies to India. India had been facing Western sanctions after it conducted a nuclear test in 1998. Currently, India has nuclear energy agreements with 11 countries and imports uranium from France, Russia and Kazakhstan. Nuclear energy in India contributes just about 3% to its total electricity generation. The country has less than two dozen small reactors located at six sites with a total capacity of 4,780 MW. India intends to boost its nuclear capacity to 63,000 MW by 2032 by installing a total of 30 reactors at an approximate cost of $85 billion. With the latest agreement, India becomes the first country to import Australian uranium without being a part of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT). It also vindicates India’s international acceptability for its nuclear programme despite not ratifying the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Australia accounts for about 40% of the world's uranium reserves and has 24 active nuclear cooperation agreements. It exports nearly 7,000 tonnes uranium to 42 countries plus Taiwan. Besides India, Australia has also finalised its Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with the UAE, a step that will help develop the UAE’s nuclear power program significantly.
November 30, 2015 | 2:30pm IST
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