October 24, 2026 03:35 am (IST)
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Australia on the verge of making N-deal with India, media reports
Sydney, Sept 3 (IBNS): Australia is looking forward to go ahead with the much-awaited uranium sale to India, media reports said.
According to reports, Australian Prime Minster Tony Abbott is scheduled to visit India this week.
Ahead of the visit, on Wednesday Abbott said in Australia parliament that he hopes to sign a deal on this tour to sell uranium to India for peaceful power generation.
“I am hoping to sign a nuclear cooperation agreement that will enable uranium sales by Australia to India,” media reported Abbott as saying.
It is worthy to mention that the process on India-Australia civil nuclear agreement has been underway since Australia, which has 40 per cent of the world's known uranium reserves, lifted a long-standing ban on selling uranium to energy-starved India in 2012.
According to sources, since then both nations are trying to figure out an amicable safeguards agreement to ensure any uranium exports from Australia are used purely for peaceful purposes.
Speaking on the development, Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb said his government is “satisfied” with India’s efforts.
Australia had earlier refused to sell nuclear fuel to India because it had not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
If media reports are to be believed, India faces an acute shortage of coal deposits and urgently need alternate source of power supply.
Earlier, US signed the deal with India in 2008 allowing India to import U.S. nuclear fuel and technology without giving up its military nuclear programme.
India is seeking a similar agreement with Japan.
According to recent Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) statistics, India operates 20 mostly small reactors at six sites with a capacity of 4,780 MW, or 2 per cent of its total power capacity.
The government hopes to increase its nuclear capacity to 63,000 MW by 2032 by adding nearly 30 reactors - at an estimated cost of $85 billion.
India's status as a nuclear power features highly among new Prime Minister Narendra Modi's priorities.
Australia on the other hand, which has no nuclear power plants of its own, is one of the world's top exporters of uranium.
Meanwhile, Abbott Government has decided to halt uranium exports to Russia over Moscow's role in Ukraine.
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