Russia and India have been expanding their cooperation in the energy sector, including nuclear power. Another development related to this sector was made this week.

Russian Equipment Manufacturer EZTM will ship specialized cold rolling mills to India's Nuclear Fuel Complex, which comes under the South Asian nation's Department of Atomic Energy, the Eurasian nation-based firm said on Friday.

"Under a contract with the Indian company Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), our company has manufactured three cold rolling mills. These mills are designed to produce pipes with an outer diameter of 6-18 mm from hollow blanks made of zircaloy and stainless steels," EZTM said in a statement.

Also, EZTM revealed that India's public sector company carried out the pre-shipment inspection of the material in February.

During the pre-shipment inspection, EZTM showcased the operational features of the mills, which included its lubricants and hydraulics, control and automation systems, and communication centre.

These mills will now be transported to the Nuclear Fuel Complex site after the Indian firm issued a permit to EZTM for the same.

It is worth highlighting that cold rolling is a process undertaken to change a metal's original form. Primarily, it is put in place to transform aluminium into hardened stainless steel, which is extensively used in the production of nuclear energy.

This development comes on the back of the recent news regarding India and Russia expanding their civilian nuclear cooperation as New Delhi bets big on nuclear energy to achieve its zero carbon emission goals.

Earlier this week, India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar confirmed that India was looking to set up more nuclear power plants in the country with Russian assistance.

"We are discussing the progress made at Kudankulam (nuclear power plant built in collaboration with Russia). In fact, we are looking for additional sites for Russian reactors," India's top diplomat said in response to a question about the expansion of Indo-Russian cooperation in the civilian nuclear domain.

(With Reporting by Sputnik)