Science

India Nuclear Power Timeline: 100 GW Race & SMRs

As of 27 August 2026 India operates about 8.8 GW of nuclear capacity from roughly 24 reactors, with 8 more (about 6 GW) under construction. The government's ne…

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FOUNDATIONS

Atomic Energy Commission and Department of Atomic Energy set up

India created the Atomic Energy Commission in 1948 and the Department of Atomic Energy in 1954, both driven by physicist Homi Bhabha, who framed the three-stage programm…

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TARAPUR, THEN PHWRs

First commercial reactors, then the indigenous heavy-water fleet

Tarapur, two US-built boiling water reactors, started India's commercial nuclear era in 1969. After the 1974 nuclear test and the resulting technology embargo, India shi…

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END OF ISOLATION

India-US civil nuclear agreement and NSG waiver

After separating its civilian and military facilities and accepting IAEA safeguards, India won a Nuclear Suppliers Group waiver in September 2008, ending the trade embar…

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LIABILITY LAW

Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act freezes foreign deals

India's 2010 liability law capped operator liability at about 1,500 crore rupees and, unusually, let the operator recover from equipment suppliers after an accident. For…

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700 MW ERA

First indigenous 700 MW PHWRs enter service at Kakrapar

Kakrapar Unit 3 reached first criticality in 2020 and commercial operation in June 2023; Unit 4 followed in March 2024. These are India's first 700 MW PHWRs and the stan…

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NUCLEAR ENERGY MISSION

The 100 GW goal and a 20,000 crore rupee SMR mission announced

The 2025-26 Union Budget announced a Nuclear Energy Mission with a 20,000 crore rupee outlay for small modular reactor research, a target of at least five indigenous SMR…

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SHANTI ACT

One law replaces the 1962 Atomic Energy Act and 2010 liability law

Parliament passed the SHANTI Act in December 2025 (Presidential assent 20 December). It set a size-graded operator liability cap of about 100 crore to 3,000 crore rupees…

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STAGE 2 BEGINS

Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor reaches first criticality

The 500 MWe PFBR at Kalpakkam, built by BHAVINI, attained first criticality on 6 April 2026 after regulatory clearance - about a decade behind its original schedule. Fas…

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THE CLOSER TEST

Official projection of about 22,480 MW

The DAE's near-term projection, repeatedly stated in Parliament, is about 22,480 MW by 2031-32 - roughly 2.5 times today's level. Every reactor meant to deliver it alrea…

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TARGET, NOT FORECAST

100 GW of nuclear capacity

The 100 GW goal for the centenary of independence would need roughly 91 GW of new capacity in about 21 years - far above any pace India has sustained. Counting every ope…

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