New Delhi, April 7, 2026 – India has achieved huge success in the energy sector. We its citizens on monday nuclear energy The program has achieved a long awaited milestone. The country’s most advanced nuclear reactor – the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu has reached ‘criticality’. With this, the nuclear fission chain reaction has started, which has brought the reactor a decisive step closer towards being fully operational.
announcing this development Prime Minister Narendra ModiIt was described as a landmark moment in India’s nuclear journey. The Prime Minister said in a statement, “Today, India is taking a decisive step in its civil nuclear journey and moving forward into the second phase of its nuclear programme. The indigenously designed and built prototype fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam has achieved ‘criticality’.” He added that this achievement demonstrates “the depth of our scientific capability and the strength of our engineering enterprise” and is a crucial step towards exploiting India’s vast thorium reserves in the future.
atom In definition, ‘criticality’ refers to the point at which the reactor achieves a self-sustaining nuclear fission reaction, that is, the number of neutrons produced is sufficient to continue the reaction without external interference. Although this does not mean that the reactor is still generating electricity at its full capacity, it is one of the most important milestones in making any nuclear plant operational.
The Sodium-Cooled Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) with an electric capacity of 500 MW was under construction for more than two decades. In which some of the most complex engineering and materials challenges ever faced by the Nuclear Energy Establishment of India were faced. This reactor has been developed and operated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (BHAVINI) under the Department of Atomic Energy at the Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research (IGCAR) campus, Kalpakkam.
It is considered a historic milestone for India’s peaceful nuclear energy programme, Dr., Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy. Ajit Kumar Mohanty had said that the prototype fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam has achieved the first criticality. With this, India has entered the second phase of the three-phase nuclear energy program conceived by Homi Jahangir Bhabha.
