To meet its growing fuel requirements of its nuclear power plants, India is planning to import 2,000 tonne uranium from Uzbekistan by 2014. Uzbekistan has 1,85,800 tonne of proven uranium deposits, say media reports. The Indian government is in parleys with Uzbekistan in this regard.
Last week, an Indian delegation of its Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) traveled to Uzbekistan to discuss the modalities of a possible contract. The visit by the DAE team took place against the backdrop of talks between External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and his Uzbek counterpart Abdulaziz Kamilov last month in Tashkent.
With other central Asian nations Kazakhstan and Mongolia, India already has a contract for uranium import. Apart from these countries, Kyrgyzstan also has rich uranium deposits.
DAE is looking for uranium across the world to meet the growing demand for India's nuclear power plants.