India Receives Russian Uranium Fuel
Monday, April 13, 2009

Russia has completed its first shipment of uranium fuel pellets to India, United Press International reported Friday (see GSN, Feb. 12).

"Thirty metric tons of pellets have been delivered to Hyderabad-based Nuclear Fuel Complex for the production of fuel for 'Rajasthan' [Nuclear Power Plant]," the Russian firm Atomenergoprom said in a statement.

Atomenergoprom is set to provide India with 2,000 metric tons of the material under a deal completed in February (United Press International, April 10).

Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Friday that he was prepared to resign last year if lawmakers in New Delhi had not approved the terms of a U.S.-Indian civilian nuclear trade deal, the Indo-Asian News Service reported.

The agreement faced strong opposition from Indian communists, who threatened to force early elections if the government took steps to implement the trade pact.

"I was quite clear that if the nuclear deal had not gone through, I would have resigned. I made this known to everybody concerned," Singh said. "The toughest moment was to get the nuclear deal through and the fact that we succeeded despite the desertion of the left was matter of great satisfaction."

"We had negotiated with the United States for three years. At the end of the negotiations, if we could not get it through, that would have given a very bad impression to the world," he said. "It was to save India's honor that I staked my reputation that if the nuclear deal is not there I will not be PM" (Indo-Asian News Service/Yahoo!News, April 10).

Elsewhere, representatives from Swedish energy firms are expected to visit India tomorrow in an effort to seek business with the country's nuclear sector, the Hindustan Times reported.

The Swedish firms offer services such as nuclear power plant construction, safety management, waste management and scientific consulting (Anupama Airy, Hindustan Times/Yahoo!News, April 11).