India-Australia Uranium Supply Agreement (International Relations)
2. India-Australia Uranium Supply Agreement (International Relations)
Why In News: India and Australia finalised a uranium supply agreement on 9 July 2026 during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Melbourne, operationalising the 2014-15 Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement between the two countries. Australia holds about 28% of the world's uranium reserves, and the agreement allows long term uranium exports to India for exclusively peaceful purposes under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.
Background: Civil Nuclear Cooperation * The 2014 framework agreement on nuclear cooperation between India and Australia remained largely dormant for over a decade due to the Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO) requirement of a bilateral safeguards pact with every recipient nation, regardless of NPT status. * India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which historically complicated uranium trade with Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) members. * The 2008 India-specific waiver by the NSG allowed India to trade in civil nuclear technology and fuel despite remaining outside the NPT. * India already sources uranium under long term contracts with Kazakhstan's Kazatomprom, Canada's Cameco Corporation, and suppliers in France, Russia and Namibia.
India's Nuclear Power Programme * India's 3-Stage Nuclear Power Programme is designed to harness the nation's nuclear resources for sustainable energy production while ensuring long-term energy security. It was formulated by well-known physicist Dr. Homi Bhabha. o Stage 1 uses natural uranium fuelled Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs); o Stage 2 uses Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) run on plutonium generated in Stage 1; o Stage 3 aims to use thorium, of which India holds the world's largest reserves. * The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) operate India's fleet of nuclear reactors, while the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) is the safety regulator. * The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, is India's premier nuclear research institution.
Key Facts for Prelims * India's target of 100 GW nuclear capacity by 2047 compares with about 8 GW currently installed. * The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a 48 nation export control regime; India has sought but not yet secured full membership. * The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 governs compensation liability in the event of a nuclear accident in India. * Thorium reserves in India are concentrated in monazite sand deposits along the coasts of Kerala, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.