--- title: "Kalpakkam Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor | Whitepill" canonical_url: "https://www.whitepill.in/milestones/kalpakkam-prototype-fast-breeder-reactor" last_updated: "2026-09-07T19:14:05.032Z" meta: description: "India's 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, achieved first criticality on 6 April 2026, marking a major milestone in Indi..." "og:description": "India's 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, achieved first criticality on 6 April 2026, marking a major milestone in Indi..." "og:title": "Kalpakkam Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor | Whitepill" "twitter:description": "India's 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, achieved first criticality on 6 April 2026, marking a major milestone in Indi..." "twitter:title": "Kalpakkam Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor | Whitepill" --- [All milestones](https://www.whitepill.in/milestones) Energy Government # Kalpakkam Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor 6 April 2026 India's 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, achieved first criticality on 6 April 2026, marking a major milestone in India's indigenous nuclear programme and the transition toward the second stage of the country's three-stage nuclear power programme. The story traces back to Dr. Homi J. Bhabha, who formulated India's three-stage nuclear power programme in the 1950s around India's limited uranium resources and abundant thorium reserves. Decades of work by the Department of Atomic Energy, BARC, IGCAR and BHAVINI culminated in the indigenous design, construction and commissioning of the PFBR. The sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor is designed to generate 500 MWe while breeding additional fissile material from Uranium-238 and creating a pathway toward eventual utilisation of India's large thorium resources. Published by [Whitepill](https://www.whitepill.in/about) on 12 August 2026 ## People involved [Homi J. BhabhaFounder of India's nuclear programme; First Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy](https://www.google.com/search?q=Homi+J.+Bhabha) [Vikram SarabhaiFormer Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission](https://www.google.com/search?q=Vikram+Sarabhai) [Raja RamannaFormer Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre](https://www.google.com/search?q=Raja+Ramanna) [Anil KakodkarFormer Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy](https://www.google.com/search?q=Anil+Kakodkar) [Narendra ModiPrime Minister of India](https://www.google.com/search?q=Narendra+Modi) [Ajit Kumar MohantyChairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy](https://www.google.com/search?q=Ajit+Kumar+Mohanty) [Sreekumar G. PillaiDirector, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research](https://www.google.com/search?q=Sreekumar+G.+Pillai) ## Timeline 3 August 1948 #### Atomic Energy Commission established India established the Atomic Energy Commission under the leadership of Dr. Homi J. Bhabha, laying the institutional foundation for the country's long-term nuclear programme. 3 August 1954 #### Department of Atomic Energy established The Department of Atomic Energy was established directly under the Prime Minister, with Homi J. Bhabha as its first Secretary, creating the institutional structure that would drive India's indigenous nuclear programme. 1 January 1954 #### India's three-stage nuclear power programme conceived Homi J. Bhabha formulated India's three-stage nuclear power programme around the country's limited uranium resources and large thorium reserves. The strategy envisioned using pressurised heavy water reactors first, fast breeder reactors second, and thorium-based systems in the third stage. 4 August 1956 #### APSARA becomes India's first nuclear reactor India achieved first criticality of APSARA at Trombay, becoming the first Asian country outside the Soviet Union to operate a nuclear reactor. The reactor was developed under the leadership of Homi J. Bhabha and established India's early nuclear research capability. 1 January 1957 #### Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay begins development The Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay became the centre of India's nuclear research and development activities under Bhabha's leadership. It was later renamed the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in his honour. 24 January 1966 #### Homi J. Bhabha dies Homi J. Bhabha died in an aircraft crash in 1966. His institutional foundations and three-stage nuclear strategy continued to guide India's nuclear programme for decades after his death. 1 January 1971 #### IGCAR established at Kalpakkam The Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research was established at Kalpakkam to develop advanced nuclear technologies, including fast breeder reactors, nuclear fuel, materials and associated fuel-cycle technologies. 18 October 1985 #### Fast Breeder Test Reactor achieves first criticality The Fast Breeder Test Reactor at Kalpakkam achieved first criticality, providing India with a long-running experimental platform for fast-reactor fuels, materials, sodium technology and reactor systems. 1 January 2003 #### BHAVINI established The Government of India established Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited to construct and operate India's commercial fast breeder reactors, creating the organisation responsible for the PFBR project. 1 October 2004 #### PFBR construction begins at Kalpakkam Construction of the 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor began at Kalpakkam, based on fast-reactor technology developed indigenously by IGCAR. 24 September 2014 #### PFBR construction nears completion The Department of Atomic Energy reported that construction of the 500 MWe PFBR was nearing completion, with major permanent in-core components installed. 1 January 2015 #### PFBR enters advanced commissioning phase The reactor moved through final construction, system commissioning and safety-related testing as India prepared its first indigenous commercial-scale fast breeder reactor for operation. 4 March 2024 #### PFBR begins core loading Prime Minister Narendra Modi witnessed the commencement of core loading at India's first indigenous 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam, marking a major step toward first criticality. 4 March 2024 #### More than 200 Indian industries contribute to PFBR BHAVINI reported that the PFBR was indigenously designed and constructed with contributions from more than 200 Indian industries, including MSMEs, demonstrating the depth of India's domestic nuclear engineering and manufacturing ecosystem. 1 January 2025 #### PFBR progresses toward first criticality Following core loading and regulatory clearances, BHAVINI continued integrated commissioning and preparation for the reactor's first approach to criticality. 6 April 2026 #### PFBR achieves first criticality The 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam successfully achieved first criticality at 8:25 PM on 6 April 2026, initiating a controlled nuclear fission chain reaction for the first time. 6 April 2026 #### India advances into the second stage of its three-stage nuclear programme The achievement of first criticality marked a major step in India's three-stage nuclear programme, with fast breeder technology serving as the bridge between the existing pressurised heavy water reactor fleet and the future utilisation of India's thorium resources. 6 April 2026 #### Decades of indigenous nuclear engineering culminate at Kalpakkam The PFBR milestone represented decades of Indian research and engineering spanning nuclear physics, reactor design, fast-reactor technology, nuclear fuels, materials, sodium systems and large-scale domestic manufacturing. ## Resources - [officialdae.gov.in](https://dae.gov.in/prototype-fast-breeder-reactor-at-kalpakkam-tamil-nadu-attains-first-criticality/) - [officialdae.gov.in](https://dae.gov.in/pm-witnesses-the-historic-commencement-of-core-loading-at-indias-first-indigenous-fast-breeder-reactor-500-mwe-at-kalpakkam-tamil-nadu/) - [officialbarc.gov.in](https://www.barc.gov.in/about/atomic_energy_programme.html) - [officialigcar.gov.in](https://www.igcar.gov.in/) - [officialbarc.gov.in](https://www.barc.gov.in/about/bhabha.html) - [officialdae.gov.in](https://dae.gov.in/)