In an agreement reached while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
visited Kazakhstan July 6,2015 Central Asia’s largest economy and the
world’s largest producer of uranium will supply India with 5000 Metric Tonnes of Nuclear Fuel in the 2015-2019 period.
Kazakhstan produced 38 % of the world’s uranium–22,451 metric tons in 2013–more than the next three top producers combined (Canada, Australia, and Niger)
Kazakhstan is rich in nuclear materials and has distinguished itself as a firm proponent of nonproliferation and peaceful use of civilian nuclear power.
In 1991, when the Soviet Union dissolved, newly-independent Kazakhstan inherited a sizable stockpile of Soviet nuclear weapons–the world’s fourth largest at the time.
The Semipalatinsk test site, also called the Polygon and located on the Kazakh steppe, had been the scene of more than 450 nuclear tests over four decade of Soviet control.
In the 1990s Kazakhstan worked to repatriate the weapons, and was declared nuclear-free in 1995
Between 2010 and 2014, Kazakhstan supplied India with 2,100 metric tons of uranium
The increase in uranium supply is a boon to Modi’s energy plans. India, which has increasingly faced an energy-deficit, dealing with blackouts and leaning heavily on coal has begun to focus on building up its nuclear power capabilities in recent years.
India has 7 Nuclear Power Plants, which operate a total of 21 Nuclear Reactors
Six more nuclear reactors are under construction. India’s aim is to supply a quarter of its electricity from nuclear power by 2050, an ambitious goal.
India now has uranium contracts with Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia, Argentina, and Namibia
Kazakhstan produced 38 % of the world’s uranium–22,451 metric tons in 2013–more than the next three top producers combined (Canada, Australia, and Niger)
Kazakhstan is rich in nuclear materials and has distinguished itself as a firm proponent of nonproliferation and peaceful use of civilian nuclear power.
In 1991, when the Soviet Union dissolved, newly-independent Kazakhstan inherited a sizable stockpile of Soviet nuclear weapons–the world’s fourth largest at the time.
The Semipalatinsk test site, also called the Polygon and located on the Kazakh steppe, had been the scene of more than 450 nuclear tests over four decade of Soviet control.
In the 1990s Kazakhstan worked to repatriate the weapons, and was declared nuclear-free in 1995
Between 2010 and 2014, Kazakhstan supplied India with 2,100 metric tons of uranium
The increase in uranium supply is a boon to Modi’s energy plans. India, which has increasingly faced an energy-deficit, dealing with blackouts and leaning heavily on coal has begun to focus on building up its nuclear power capabilities in recent years.
India has 7 Nuclear Power Plants, which operate a total of 21 Nuclear Reactors
Six more nuclear reactors are under construction. India’s aim is to supply a quarter of its electricity from nuclear power by 2050, an ambitious goal.
Initially, the development of Indian nuclear power
production was largely independent. Excluded from the nuclear
nonproliferation treaty (NPT) because it acquired nuclear weapons after
1970, Indian nuclear energy development proceeded without external fuel
sources or technical assistance
In September 2008, however, the Nuclear Suppliers Group(NSG) – a
multinational group formed in 1974 in response to India’s first nuclear
weapons test that controls the export and re-transfer of nuclear
materials–granted India a waiver, allowing it to engage in international
nuclear trade
The waiver came after significant U.S. pressure, most
clearly stated in the signing of the Indian -USA Civil Nuclear Agreement in 2006
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