The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave approval to the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with Australia, which was brought into force on November 13, along with the administrative arrangement for implementing the agreement.
The fuel supply arrangements with Australia will bolster energy security by supporting the expansion of nuclear power in India.
The year 2015 has seen major achievements in the field of civil nuclear cooperation. The reaching of agreement on a bilateral civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Japan during Prime Minister Abe's visit to India on December 12 brought to a close five years of negotiation on this issue. This path breaking development was made possible by strong engagement at the level of leaders.
The implementation of the civil nuclear cooperation agreement with the U.S. was, however, put back on course when Prime Minister hosted President Obama in New Delhi on January 25-27.
Since then, the administrative arrangement for implementing the agreement has been signed and the India Nuclear Insurance Pool set up to implement the understanding on the civil nuclear liability, which has addressed international and domestic concerns on India's Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act of 2010.
Commercial negotiations between NPCIL and Westinghouse for construction of six units of the AP-1000 reactor at Mithi Virdi, Gujarat, are on course for finalisation in 2016.
The civil nuclear cooperation with Russia and France has also been taken forward this year. During the Prime Minister's visit to France in April 2015, a MoU between M/s Larsen and Toubro and M/s Areva aimed at cost reduction by increasing localisation for the Jaitapur project in Maharashtra was signed.
On December 22, during Prime Minister's visit to Russia, a Joint Programme of Action for Localisation of Manufacturing in India for Russian-designed Nuclear Power Plants was signed. A minimum of 12 reactor units will be built with Russian collaboration.
Following the signing of a contract for long-term supply of uranium during the Prime Minister's visit to Canada in April, the first consignment of uranium reached India in December. Likewise, a long-term contract for purchase of uranium was signed during the Prime Minister's visit to Kazakhstan in July.
