India is working on creating a ‘strategic uranium reserve’ to ensure its atomic power reactors do not face shortage of the crucial nuclear fuel. “The reserve pool could be anywhere between 5000 MT to 15,000 MT which can last for 5-10 years,” said a senior government official.

Highlights

• India has been pursuing its case to buy uranium from different countries including Australia and Canada. It is also procuring uranium from Russia for its indigenous reactors.
• According to sources after Hyderabad another Nuclear Fuel Complex is coming up in Kota in Rajasthan.
• In a major milestone, India this year registered a record production of over 1,252 MT of uranium, manufacturing close to double the annual fuel requirement of atomic reactors in the country.
• The production has far exceeded the country’s annual fuel requirement of 650 MT for the Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs), which means the country has surplus nuclear fuel that will last several months.
• India has started importing uranium from Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and France.
• In the near future, two nuclear reactors of 700 MW each in Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) and Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) are coming up.
• Four atomic reactors of 700 MW each are also coming up at the Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana (GHAVP).
• Fuel for Kudankulam plant in Tamil Nadu and Jaitapur in Maharashtra, coming up in collaboration with Russia and France respectively, will be made available by the foreign players.