French nuclear power engineering company Areva will deliver 300 tonnes of uranium to India under an agreement signed in September, the French company said in a statement on Thursday.
The uranium will go to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and is the first such shipment since a 34-year international embargo on international nuclear trade with India was lifted in September.
"The much-needed fuel will supplement the shortages in domestic reserves for use in India's nuclear plant fleet…. These 300 tonnes from Areva represents more than a third of NPCIL total installed capacity," the statement said.
Nuclear energy could represent 20 percent of all electricity generated in India by 2020, up from the current three percent, Areva said. France and India signed a nuclear cooperation pact on September 30.
