New Delhi, Sept. 8: The government has lined up a string of initiatives to increase the availability of uranium, which is used in the generation of nuclear power as well as in nuclear weapons.

These initiatives will complement the government’s effort to obtain the mineral globally, for which it got permission from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Besides sourcing more uranium from the country, the government plans to pick up equity in uranium mines abroad, as it has been doing in oil and gas.

Sources said Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited was planning to invest $1.2 billion in a Canadian uranium mine.

India is also in talks with the African countries of Gabon, Niger and Namibia to pick up equity in mines there. In exchange of assured supplies, the Indian government may enter into civilian and military co-operation agreements with those countries.

The sources said the Indian company, Taurian Resources, had recently won a contract in Niger giving it exclusive rights to mine over 3,000 square kilometres in an area estimated to hold at least 30,000 tonnes of uranium. As Niger is not a member of the NSG, India will find it easy to access the mineral once the mines become operational.

Namibia, another non-NSG country, which holds about eight to nine per cent of the global uranium reserves, has shown interest in entering into a long-term arrangement.

Officials said Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) would play a key role in ensuring uranium security.

The government plans to ask ONGC to buy equity stakes in uranium mines abroad and allow the PSU to join hands with Uranium Corporation of India Limited for domestic operations.

Within the country, the government wants to more than double the current confirmed uranium reserves of 61,000 tonnes. Exploration work is being carried out in Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Meghalaya.

State-run Uranium Corporation and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd are working on a Rs 1,100-crore uranium-mining-cum-proces-sing project in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh, which is likely to be operational sometime next year.