Early this year, Russia supplied India 58 tonnes of low enriched uranium (LEU) in what is seen as rare evidence that Moscow is prepared to defy Washington when it comes to its own strategic and business interests. And its “special” relationship with New Delhi.

The first official supplies of LEU were received in two lots in January and February by the Nuclear Fuel Complex in Hyderabad, the facility that fabricates fuel for nuclear-power reactors in India. This was confirmed by top sources both in Russia and India.

The supplies, costing about Rs 117.5 crore, are meant for Tarapur and sources say the fuel is sufficient to last ‘‘five to six years,’’ before India shifts to the indigenously fabricated MOX (mixed oxide) fuel. Sources in the Department of Atomic Energy told The Indian Express that the latest consignment is exclusively for use in Tarapur’s boiling water reactors.
Originally supplied by General Electric of USA in 1969 at a rated capacity of 210 MW each, these reactors—the oldest in the world—now run at a re-rated capacity of 170 MW.