Opponents of nuclear power have warned Australia against selling uranium to India amid speculation a long-elusive deal has been struck between the trading partners.
There are reports a nuclear safeguards agreement has finally been reached between the nations after years of negotiations, paving the way for Australia to export uranium to the nuclear-armed state.
The move will prove controversial as India hasn't signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
Critics have long warned that Australian uranium could help India free up its domestic reserves for use in nuclear weapons, only furthering tensions with neighbouring Pakistan.
The Australian Greens warned partnering with India's "scandal-prone" nuclear industry was a mistake.
"Instead of fuelling this arms race, Australian industry should be partnering with India's vibrant solar sector," Greens senator Scott Ludlum said in a statement.
The Australian Conservation Foundation says any deal posed an unacceptable risk of environmental disaster and the spread of nuclear weapons in a region rife with military tension.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott is expected to visit India, Australia's fifth-largest export market, in September.
Negotiations for a safeguards agreement have been underway since Labor dumped its longstanding opposition to uranium sales to India.
The ban was imposed because India was a nuclear-armed nation outside the non-proliferation treaty, but was overturned at the ALP national conference in late 2011.
Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said he'd have to wait and see the details of any agreement.
"But of course the Labor Party put in place the policy framework to allow that to happen, so if that has been progressed that's something that's welcomed," he told reporters in Canberra on Monday.
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