 "Putin in India: Russia's nuclear corporation Rosatom delivers nuclear fuel to Kudankulam Plant")
Russia’s state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom has delivered the first consignment of nuclear fuel to power the third reactor of the plant located in Tamil Nadu’s Kudankulam. The development comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin visits India for the 23rd India-Russia Summit.
Rosatom said in a statement on Thursday that it delivered the fuel assemblies manufactured by the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant via a cargo plane operated by its Nuclear Fuel Division.
What did the delivery include?
A total of seven flights from Russia are planned to supply the entire reactor core and some reserve fuel.
These shipments are provided under a contract signed in 2024, which includes fuel supply for the third and fourth VVER-1000 reactors of the Kudankulam plant for the entire service life, starting from initial loading, according to a report by PTI.
The Kudankulam plant will have six VVER-1000 reactors with a total installed capacity of 6,000 MW. The first two reactors at Kudankulam were connected to India’s power grid in 2013 and 2016, while the four other reactors are under construction.
During the operation of these two reactors in the first phase of the Kudankulam plant, Russian and Indian engineers have done considerable work to increase their efficiency through the introduction of advanced nuclear fuel and extended fuel cycles, Rosatom said.
India-Russia defence
Putin arrives in New Delhi today for the 23rd Annual India–Russia Summit, where defence cooperation is expected to take centre stage. Discussions are set to cover potential follow-on orders for the S-400 system, exploratory talks on the S-500, and proposals related to the Su-57 fighter.
In a parallel development, India has finalised a $946 million sustainment agreement with the United States for its fleet of 24 MH-60R “Seahawk” naval helicopters.
Defence officials from both nations will review a broad slate of ongoing and future programmes, with a particular focus on air-defence capabilities, fighter-aircraft upgrades, and naval collaboration. A key item on the agenda is continued cooperation on the S-400 Triumf long-range air-defence system.
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