The acronym UCIL primarily refers to the Uranium Corporation of India Limited, a Public Sector Enterprise (PSU) under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). However, an informed reader should also know it was the acronym for Union Carbide India Limited, the company responsible for the 1984 Bhopal disaster, which was later renamed Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994.
The Uranium Corporation of India Limited was established on October 4, 1967, as a key institution to ensure India's self-sufficiency in nuclear fuel. Its creation solved the problem of securing an indigenous supply of uranium ore, which is vital for the country's nuclear power program.
UCIL's mechanism involves the entire cycle of uranium mining and processing. It operates a combination of underground and open-pit mines, such as the six underground mines in Jharkhand (including Jaduguda, the first mine) and one underground mine in Andhra Pradesh (Tummalapalle). The ore is processed into a concentrate to provide fuel for Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs).
UCIL is intrinsically connected to the larger nuclear ecosystem: the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) hands over proven reserves for development, and UCIL supplies the processed fuel to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). Recently, UCIL has been expanding its operations, with new projects underway in states like Karnataka (Gogi), Telangana (Lambapur), and Meghalaya (KPM). It has also commissioned facilities to produce a higher-grade product called 'Heat Treated Uranium Peroxide' (90% uranium).