Country’s largest oil and gas explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) plans to enter uranium mining business in alliance with public-sector Uranium Corporation of India (UCI), the only company producing nuclear power in India.

As the Indo-US nuclear deal is near finalization, the company sees this as a good time to enter into the business. It aims to tap the business opportunity from nuclear fuel shortage in Asia's third largest economy.

Global uranium prices are around $4 per ounce, and have risen 9.32 per cent in the last three weeks.

For ONGC, nuclear mining is similar to onshore exploration for oil and gas and it hopes to leverage expertise in this field. The company is expected to present the proposal to its board on Monday.

India, which has 0.8 percent of the world's uranium reserves, will need 78,000 tonnes to fulfill plans to generate 20,000 MW of electricity through nuclear power by 2020.

Currently, India has 17 nuclear power plants with a capacity of 4,120 Mw. Three plants with a capacity of 2,660 Mw are expected to be commissioned by March 2010.