Earlier this month, India secured a long-term uranium supply deal with Australia, marking a key step towards operationalisation of the pact for its civil nuclear programme. The development comes nearly 12 years after the India-Australia Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement was signed.
While the volume of uranium oxide, or yellowcake, to be supplied and the duration of the agreement have not been disclosed, the deal follows similar long-term uranium supply agreements signed with Canada and Kazakhstan earlier this year, underscoring New Delhi’s efforts to diversify and secure fuel supplies for its planned expansion of nuclear power generation.
The agreement comes as India pursues an ambitious target of expanding its civil nuclear power capacity to 100 gigawatt-electric (GWe) by 2047 and, last year, opened the tightly regulated civil nuclear sector to greater private participation.
Uranium, a common element found worldwide, must undergo several processing stages before it can be used as nuclear fuel. These include mining and milling, conversion, enrichment (where required), and fuel fabrication.
But where does India currently source the uranium that fuel its nuclear reactors? And what role do the domestic uranium reserves play in meeting the country’s growing demand?
India needs more uranium supply
For the country’s indigenous pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs), which run on natural uranium, fuel requirements are met through a combination of production from state-owned Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) mines and imports. Enriched uranium used in the two light water reactor (LWR) variants — Tarapur Nuclear Power Plant and Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant — is entirely imported.
The domestic uranium oxide reserves currently stand at around 4.3 lakh tonnes, spread across 47 uranium deposits located in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra. UCIL has the mandate to mine and process uranium ore in the country and operates major mines in Jaduguda and Turamdih in Jharkhand and Tummalapalle in Andhra Pradesh.
However, the uranium requirement for only 2.4 GWe out of the country’s total 8.7 GWe capacity is currently met from domestic sources while the rest is met through imports, a committee constituted by the Ministry of Power to prepare a roadmap for 100 GW nuclear capacity by 2047 noted in June 2025.
“Thus, to meet the target of 100 GW of nuclear capacity in 2047, India would need to augment uranium supplies and also have commensurate processing and fabrication capabilities,” it said. The committee estimated that in 2047, the country will need an additional 8,029 tonnes of natural uranium and 1,045 tonnes of enriched uranium annually.
NSG waiver, global uranium partnerships expand
The country’s ability to import uranium for its civil nuclear reactors was unlocked in 2008, when the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) granted it a ‘clean’ waiver, making it the only non-signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to enjoy such trading privileges.
Government data shows that between 2008-09 and 2024-25, India imported a total of 18,842.60 metric tonnes (mt) of uranium in the form of uranium ore concentrate, natural uranium dioxide pellets and enriched uranium dioxide pellets for reactors operating under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.
In 2024-25, nuclear power plants generated 56,631.48 million units (mu) of electricity, of which 39,180 mu was produced using imported uranium, according to government data. The estimated requirement of imported natural uranium for operating and proposed safeguarded PHWRs is around 9,000 metric tonnes of uranium (mtu) during 2025-2033.
India currently imports uranium from Russia and Uzbekistan. Shipments from Canadian mining company Cameco Corp., under the $2.6-billion supply agreement signed in March, are expected to begin next year. Kazakhstan is also expected to emerge as one of India’s most significant uranium suppliers after Kazatomprom, the world’s largest uranium producer, agreed in February to sell a substantial volume of uranium to India. Both Cameco and Kazatomprom were among India’s major uranium suppliers until 2020-21.
Apart from these countries, France supplied uranium ores and concentrates to India in 2025-26, while similar imports were received from the US in 2024-25, according to trade data.
Why India depends on imports: High costs, low-grade uranium ore
One of the principal reasons for India’s continued dependence on imported uranium is economics.
According to the Ministry of Power committee, mining and processing domestic uranium into uranium ore concentrate costs three to four times more than procuring it from international markets. The higher cost is mainly due to the poor grade of uranium ore found in India. However, the committee cautioned that the ongoing global push towards nuclear power could drive up international uranium prices in the coming years.
“Further, the possibility of finding mines with better quality ore or emergence of new extraction technology with given quality of ore, there may be a need to enhance domestic uranium production. Even if expensive, this will help to have a degree of energy security. To facilitate this, the government may consider infusing additional equity in UCIL to facilitate expansion,” the committee had recommended.
Uranium, a common element found worldwide, must undergo several processing stages before it can be used as nuclear fuel. (Magnific) 
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