What made Australia finally decide to sell uranium to India?
India and Australia's uranium deal is finally active after a decade-long pause, with a landmark civil nuclear agreement signed by PM Modi and PM Albanese allowing for the commercial supply of Australian uranium
Australia and India have finalised a landmark civil nuclear energy agreement, allowing Australia to commercially supply uranium to India's nuclear power projects, a decade after the initial pact was signed. This development, sealed during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Melbourne and finalised after two years of negotiations, was enabled by India's recent SHANTI Act reforms that modernised its civil nuclear policies and introduced a new regulated licensing system, addressing Australia's prior concerns despite India not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Australia and India have finalised a landmark civil nuclear energy agreement, allowing Australia to commercially supply uranium to India's nuclear power projects, a decade after the initial pact was signed. This development, sealed during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Melbourne and finalised after two years of negotiations, was enabled by India's recent SHANTI Act reforms that modernised its civil nuclear policies and introduced a new regulated licensing system, addressing Australia's prior concerns despite India not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Australia and India have finalised a landmark civil nuclear energy agreement, allowing Australia to commercially supply uranium to India's nuclear power projects, a decade after the initial pact was signed. This development, sealed during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Melbourne and finalised after two years of negotiations, was enabled by India's recent SHANTI Act reforms that modernised its civil nuclear policies and introduced a new regulated licensing system, addressing Australia's prior concerns despite India not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
A landmark agreement for Australia to supply uranium to India, which was signed over a decade ago, is finally being put into action. The long pause, rooted in Australia's concerns over India’s civil nuclear laws, officially ended during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Melbourne.
India and Australia signed a series of key agreements on Thursday, covering civil nuclear energy, maritime security, and critical minerals. The pacts were finalised during a summit between PM Modi and his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese.
The civil nuclear energy agreement was sealed after more than two years of negotiations. It will enable Australia to commercially supply uranium to fuel India's nuclear power projects, building upon a historic civil nuclear cooperation pact signed by the two nations nearly 12 years ago.
The breakthrough came after a key policy shift in India. In December 2025, India passed the SHANTI Act, a comprehensive reform of its civil nuclear policies. This new legislation modernised rules that had been in place for decades, opening up the sector to both private and foreign investment through a new regulated licensing system.
This development comes at a time when India is aiming to scale up its nuclear power capacity - from the current 8.8 GW to 100 GW by the year 2047. To achieve this, it needs advanced technology, major investment, and, critically, a reliable supply of uranium.
As home to nearly 28 per cent of the world's known uranium reserves, Australia is one of the few countries capable of being a stable, long-term supplier. India’s new legal framework appears to have successfully addressed Canberra’s previous concerns, allowing the two countries to finally activate their long-dormant agreement.
The implications of the deal go beyond energy, though. In 2010, Australia refused to sell uranium to New Delhi because India was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Today, the fundamental change was not in India's NPT status, as it still remains outside the treaty. Instead, the shift was in the level of strategic trust between the two countries. A combination of India’s solid non-proliferation record, strengthening diplomatic ties through groups like the Quad, and the reassuring reforms of the SHANTI Act have completely changed the dynamic.
In another major decision, India and Australia agreed to fast-track efforts to finalise the proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and a bilateral investment protection framework. These measures are designed to further strengthen their trade and investment relationship.
Following the summit, the leaders signed 18 pacts, including a joint declaration on defence and security cooperation, a roadmap for maritime security collaboration, a joint statement on energy security, and a partnership for cyber, critical technologies, and supply chains.
A central theme of the talks was the commitment to enhance defence ties, particularly in the maritime sector. This focus comes at a time of heightened regional unease, following China's test of a submarine-launched, long-range ballistic missile earlier in the week.
Prime Minister Modi described the outcomes of his talks with Albanese as "unparalleled", especially in the fields of renewable energy, climate action, nuclear energy, critical minerals, technology, and education. Under the new energy security framework, India and Australia pledged to reinforce energy security by ensuring a stable and reliable supply of coal, diesel, other liquid fuels, and natural gas.
Among the agreements was a pact between the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Australia's Maritime Border Command (MBC), aimed at boosting cooperation in maritime law enforcement, domain awareness, and border protection. The two nations also committed to working closely on shipbuilding, ship repair, and maintenance.
Modi arrived in Australia from Indonesia on the second stop of a three-nation tour focused on advancing trade, energy, and defence relations.
During a media briefing, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, when asked about China's missile test, confirmed that the Australian prime minister had raised the issue with concern. He added that both India and Australia desire to see peace, security, and stability in the Indo-Pacific.
In his media statement, Modi elaborated on the summit's achievements. "Our cooperation in critical minerals is vital to our strategic security and clean energy transition. With this in mind, today we have launched the Australia-India Partnership on Cyber, Critical Technologies, and Supply Chains," he added. Misri noted that both sides were able to finalise the pact with mutual satisfaction.
Modi also announced that the two countries will collaborate on a critical minerals corridor.
In his remarks, Prime Minister Albanese explained that the nuclear energy pact "facilitates Australian uranium exports to India to help increase the share of non-fossil fuel power capacity, providing an additional market for the Australian resources sector".