Canada uranium will do much good

For votaries of nuclear power, Canada’s decision to sell uranium concentrate to India is welcome as it ensures that New Delhi is on target to increase much-needed power output in this energy-starved country. More importantly, the agreement is further confirmation that India is no longer a marginalised player in the world’s nuclear club. The Canadian decision is particularly of significance as it was among the earliest to supply uranium to India only to stop supplies after the Pokhran nuclear test in 1974. Canada is the fourth country after Russia, France and Kazakhstan to resume uranium supply to India. Australia is on the verge of signing an agreement with India.

What makes the deal with Canada even more satisfying is the fact that the agreement does not impose conditions on what the country does with the spent fuel. In fact, this has been one reason why India has not rushed to sign agreements with more countries as it wanted to be clear that there could be no conditions imposed on it. Not that India is shying away from being monitored. Far from it. New Delhi discarded its pariah status following signing the nuclear deal with the United States in 2008. Simultaneously, India signed another agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) allowing 14 of its 21 reactors to be open for international inspection. In fact, this action caused the IAEA and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to relax its demand that India sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) and allowed other countries to go ahead and sign individual nuclear agreements with New Delhi. The 3,000 tonnes of uranium promised by Canada is a boon for India’s nuclear reactors as this quantity alone is enough to ensure smooth supply of raw material for the next five years.

Post the nuclear deal with the United States, India is on its way to meeting its target of increasing the share of nuclear power in the country from the present three per cent to 18 per cent by 2024. Another positive aspect is that the deal with Canada will make it much easier now for Australia to sign a similar deal with India. The reason is that Australia has not easily given up its scepticism over India’s nuclear strategy. After lengthy discussions with New Delhi and within their own country, Australian officials have only recently decided that New Delhi was trustworthy enough. Canada’s gesture in signing the $287 million deal has hopefully brushed aside any remaining suspicions the Nuclear Suppliers Group may have had vis-a-vis India.  The country can now look forward to a new era in the generation of nuclear power.