India, Uzbekistan target long-term uranium pact
India and Uzbekistan elevated bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during a State Visit, setting a bilateral trade target of $5 billion annually by 2030 (up from over $1 billion currently).
The two countries agreed on a framework for a long-term uranium supply arrangement to feed India's civil nuclear power programme.
A Coordination Council at the Foreign Minister level was established to steer all aspects of cooperation.
Eleven Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements were signed across sectors including mining and geology, higher education, culture, archives, tourism, and traditional medicine (Ayurveda).
India's Civil Nuclear Cooperation Architecture and the NSG Waiver
India operates civil nuclear power plants outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which it has not signed. Its ability to trade nuclear fuel and technology internationally hinges on a specific exemption granted by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) — the 48-nation cartel that controls global nuclear trade.
Key Details
- The NSG granted India a "clean" waiver on 6 September 2008, permitting civil nuclear commerce with India despite it being a non-NPT signatory, in recognition of its non-proliferation record.
- Following the waiver, India signed civil nuclear cooperation agreements with the US, France, Russia, Canada, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Argentina, Namibia, Australia, South Korea, and Japan, among others.
- Conditions attached to India's NSG status include a unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing, separation of civil and military nuclear facilities (under a 2006 Separation Plan), and IAEA safeguards on designated civilian reactors.
- India has separately sought (unsuccessfully so far) full NSG membership, which requires consensus among existing members and remains blocked partly by procedural objections tied to NPT non-signatory status.
A long-term uranium supply agreement with Uzbekistan extends India's post-NSG-waiver uranium diversification strategy, joining existing supply relationships with Kazakhstan (via Kazatomprom) and Australia, Canada, and Namibia — critical as India scales nuclear capacity toward its stated goal of 100 GW of nuclear power by 2047.
Uranium Supply Diversification
India's domestic uranium reserves (mainly in Jharkhand's Jaduguru mines, run by UCIL) are insufficient to fuel its expanding fleet of nuclear reactors, making imported uranium essential, particularly for reactors operating under IAEA safeguards.
Key Details
- Kazakhstan: India's largest uranium supplier; a 2015 pact with Kazatomprom included supply of around 2,100 tonnes of uranium; Kazakhstan holds the world's largest uranium reserves/production share.
- Australia: signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement in 2014 (came into force 2015) despite being a non-NPT-supply-restrictive country previously; uranium exports to India began in 2020s.
- Canada and Namibia: also supply uranium to India under bilateral safeguards agreements.
- India's nuclear capacity as of 2026 stands at roughly 8 GW (operational), with an ambitious target of 100 GW by 2047, requiring substantially larger, secure fuel supply chains — including private-sector participation enabled by recent amendments proposed to the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.
The Uzbekistan uranium framework is a direct addition to this diversification list, reducing India's dependence on any single supplier and supporting long-term fuel security as reactor capacity is scaled up.
- Bilateral trade target: $5 billion annually by 2030 (from over $1 billion currently).
- Number of MoUs/agreements signed: 11, covering mining/geology, education, culture, archives, tourism, and Ayurveda.
- NSG waiver to India: granted 6 September 2008.
- India's nuclear capacity target: 100 GW by 2047.
- Kazakhstan remains India's principal uranium supplier among Central Asian nations; Uzbekistan's pact would be a new addition to this supplier base.