France has shipped the first consignment of 60 tons of uranium ore concentrate to India, the first by that country since New Delhi got a special waiver from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) last year, reports say.
The uranium ore, which arrived at the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) in Hyderabad,capital of the south-central Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, will be processed and used to produce power in safeguarded pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs).
India and France entered into bilateral co-operation for supplying reactors and fuel following the wrapping-up of the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, signing of the 123-agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and clearance by NSG to enable New Delhi to resume nuclear commerce with the rest of the world.
The Indian Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) entered into a contract February with French Nuclear supplier AREVA NC for the supply of 300 tons of uranium ore concentrate; of them, 60 tons were shipped as the first consignment and received by the NFC.
The fuel will be processed in the designated fuel plants at the NFC by converting uranium ore concentrate into nuclear- grade uranium dioxide powder and compacted into cylindrical pellets. The pellets will then be stacked and encapsulated in thin walled tubes of zirconium alloy, which will be sealed by resistance-welding using end-plugs, a technology which has been innovated in India.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.