India still not part of NPT, then why Australia has agreed to sell uranium — answer lies in Shanti Act

Australia will begin supplying uranium to India after the two countries agreed to operationalise their long-standing civil nuclear cooperation agreement during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Melbourne.

The move ends years of delay after Canberra said its concerns over India's civil nuclear framework had been addressed following the passage of the SHANTI Act in December 2025, according to a report by News18.

Although India and Australia signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement more than a decade ago, uranium exports were never implemented because of Australian concerns over India's civil nuclear laws and safeguards.

How did the SHANTI Act help in this?

The SHANTI Act introduced sweeping changes to India's civil nuclear sector, opening it to private and foreign participation under a regulated licensing system while updating laws that had remained largely unchanged for decades.

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The agreement comes as India seeks to significantly expand its nuclear power capacity from the current 8.8 gigawatts (GW) to 100 GW by 2047 as part of its long-term clean energy plans.

Australia, which holds nearly 28 per cent of the world's known uranium reserves, is expected to become a key long-term supplier of nuclear fuel to India under the agreement.

Canberra had refused to sell uranium to India in 2010 because New Delhi is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

India remains outside the NPT, but Australian officials now say the country's non-proliferation record, expanding strategic ties through groupings such as the Quad, and reforms introduced under the SHANTI Act have helped address previous concerns.

The uranium agreement is expected to strengthen energy cooperation between the two countries while supporting India's plans to expand its civil nuclear power programme and further deepening Australia-India strategic ties.

India-Australia uranium pact

PM Modi on Thursday hailed India-Australia strategic security ties as the two countries signed an agreement for the supply of uranium and critical minerals.

Modi said that these agreements will be important for India’s strategic security and clean energy transition.

“In the nuclear energy sector, we have signed an important agreement today. This will pave the way for uranium supply from Australia to India, and this will give new strength to our aim for clean energy. Our cooperation in the area of critical minerals is important for our strategic security and clean energy transition. We will also work on a critical minerals corridor,” said Modi in a media briefing beside Australian PM Anthony Albanese.

PM Modi further said that India and Australia have set a target of 100 gigawatts of nuclear energy capacity by 2047. He added that Australia’s vast uranium reserves align directly with India’s nuclear journey.