Nuclear fuel pellets from Russia to arrive in India July-end

New Delhi: The first batch of nuclear fuel pellets -- over 60 tonnes -- to be supplied to India by Russia is expected to be delivered by the end of July, the Russian suppliers have said.

The pellets are expected to be delivered July 26-29, said officials from TVEL, the fuel company of Russian atomic power corporation Rosatom.

The fuel is meant for the pressurised heavy-water reactors already functioning in India.

"Technical acceptance of the first batch of pellets to be supplied in 2016 to the Indian Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) has been successfully completed at the Machine Engineering Plant of TVEL," Andrew Pyrinov, head of the department of technical control of the Machine Engineering Plant, told IANS.

Technical Acceptance is the procedure to check if there are any defects in products. The extensive programme involves checking of all technical documentation by the buyer, which in this case is India.

The programme included the presence of NFC representatives during the production of fuel pellets and storage of finished products.

Pyrinov said the acceptance was completed without any inquiries from the Indian side.

A long-term contract for the supply of fuel pellets for the Indian nuclear power plants was concluded on February 11, 2009, in Mumbai between JSC TVEL and the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India.

The Russian company was the first to sign a long-term contract to supply nuclear fuel to India`s PHWR reactors after the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) had removed the restrictions on the supply of uranium, reactors and technology to the India on September 6, 2008.

The first delivery of nuclear fuel to the Nuclear Fuel Complex in Hyderabad (India) took place in spring 2009. The fuel pellets made in Elektrostal, Russia are used in Indian nuclear reactors.

The Nuclear Fuel Complex was established 1971 as a major industrial unit of Department of Atomic Energy, for supplying nuclear fuel to the plants.