{"id":71008,"date":"2026-04-07T18:44:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T13:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=71008"},"modified":"2026-04-07T18:48:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T13:18:03","slug":"india-nuclear-energy-milestone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/07-04-2026\/india-nuclear-energy-milestone","title":{"rendered":"India Achieves Milestone in Nuclear Energy Programme"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Science and Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India has achieved a major milestone as the indigenously built Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam has attained criticality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>PFBR is an <strong>advanced reactor <\/strong>that <strong>generates more fissile fuel <\/strong>than it consumes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s PFBR is located at Kalpakkam and operated by Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited. It uses Uranium\u2013<strong>Plutonium Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is called a fast breeder because;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It uses <strong>high-energy, fast neutrons <\/strong>to sustain the fission reaction, rather than the slowed-down thermal neutrons used in standard reactors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It converts fertile material (like Uranium-238) into fissile material (Plutonium-239).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The criticality refers <\/strong>to the point at which a reactor achieves a <strong>self-sustaining nuclear fission reaction,<\/strong> where the number of neutrons produced is sufficient to keep the reaction going without external intervention.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Significance of the Achievement<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Advancement of India\u2019s Three-Stage Nuclear Programme:<\/strong> The PFBR marks progress in the <strong>second stage of India\u2019s three-stage nuclear programme.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It enables the <strong>conversion of fertile material into fissile fuel.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It lays the <strong>foundation for the third stage,<\/strong> which focuses on thorium utilization.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Harnessing Thorium Potential:<\/strong> India possesses vast thorium reserves, and the PFBR helps generate the required <strong>fissile material (U-233) for thorium-based reactors.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Thorium-232,<\/strong> is not fissile but can be converted into a fissile material.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Technological and Strategic Significance:<\/strong> India becomes only the second country after Russia to develop a commercial fast breeder reactor.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It demonstrates advanced indigenous capability in nuclear technology and engineering.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>India\u2019s Three-stage nuclear programme<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Establishment: <\/strong>India established the <strong>Atomic Energy Commission in 1948.&nbsp;<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>In 1956, <\/strong>Asia\u2019s first research reactor, <strong>Apsara<\/strong>, was commissioned at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Trombay.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India was the second Asian nation<\/strong> to build a nuclear power plant in <strong>1969 <\/strong>at Tarapur, just after Japan and long before China.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India has a three-phase programme of nuclear power visioned by <strong>Dr Homi J Bhabha,<\/strong> the father of India\u2019s nuclear programme.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>First Stage (Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors &#8211; PHWRs): <\/strong>India&#8217;s nuclear program initially focused on establishing a fleet of PHWRs.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These reactors use natural uranium <strong>(U-238), <\/strong>&nbsp;which contains minuscule amounts of <strong>U-235,<\/strong> as the fissile material.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Heavy water (deuterium oxide) <strong>as both moderator and coolant.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The primary purpose of this stage was to <strong>produce plutonium-239 as a byproduct from the uranium fuel.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Plutonium-239 is a fissile material <\/strong>used as fuel in nuclear reactors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Second Stage (Fast Breeder Reactors &#8211; FBRs): <\/strong>The second stage of the program involves the <strong>deployment of Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs).<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>FBRs are designed to produce <strong>more fissile material than they consume<\/strong> by utilizing a fast neutron spectrum.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In this stage, <strong>plutonium-239<\/strong> produced in the first stage is used as fuel along with<strong> U-238 <\/strong>to produce energy, <strong>U-233, and more Pu-239.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Uranium-233<\/strong> is <strong>another fissile material<\/strong> that can be used as fuel in nuclear reactors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Third Stage (Advanced Heavy Water Reactors &#8211; AHWRs): <\/strong>The final stage of the program entails the<strong> deployment of Advanced Heavy Water Reactors (AHWRs).&nbsp;<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Pu-239 will be combined with thorium-232 (Th-232)<\/strong> in reactors to <strong>produce energy and U-233.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Thorium is abundantly available in India, and this <strong>stage aims to harness its potential as a nuclear fuel.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"dbdfde\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"335\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-43.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-71014\" style=\"--dominant-color: #dbdfde; width:495px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-43.png 600w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-43-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pib.gov.in\/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2249537&amp;reg=3&amp;lang=2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>PIB<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> India has achieved a major milestone as the indigenously built Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam has attained criticality. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> PFBR is an advanced reactor that generates more fissile fuel than it consumes. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> India\u2019s PFBR is located at Kalpakkam and operated by Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited. It uses Uranium\u2013Plutonium Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/07-04-2026\/india-nuclear-energy-milestone \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71008"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71015,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71008\/revisions\/71015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}