India will achieve uranium self-sufficiency by 2013

India is expected to achieve self-sufficiency in uranium production to feed its existing nuclear power projects and proposed plants by 2013, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar said today.With the Jadugoda Uranium mill in Jharkhand expanded and the proposed expansion of Turamdih mill expected to be over next year, uranium production would go up.

Besides, exploration of uranium is underway at Tummalapalle in Andhra Pradesh and it is expected to go on stream by 2013, he told reporters here.Kakodkar was here on the occasion of five years of the propellant reaction project at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research attaining criticality.

We are also working to explore uranium at Gogi near Gulbarga in Karnataka," he said and expressed the hope that a proposed project at Meghalaya would also be cleared soon.With the completion of proposed projects, the country would overcome shortage of uranium by 2013.

Stating that the existing reactors were of world class, Kakodkar said, "We will also put in continuous efforts to further improve their performance through our research and development team.Centre had given approval, in principle, for setting up a 4X700 MW nuclear power reactor unit.

We want to quickly get (final) approval and start constructing these projects. There are also plans to set up another 4x700 MW power unit, he said but did not divulge details.