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<p><span><b>O</b></span>n April 6, India&rsquo;s nuclear energy programme officially stepped into its second stage with the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam achieving first criticality—the point at which a sustained and controlled fission chain reaction begins. Once it is fully operational, India will become only the second country after Russia to run a commercial fast breeder reactor. A closer look at the science and strategy behind this milestone:</p><div data-embed-button="ckeditor_image" data-entity-embed-display="view_mode:media.image" data-entity-type="media" data-entity-uuid="9a45f422-b771-473b-9894-855ce14c8983" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"><article class="media media--type-ckeditor-image media--view-mode-image">
  
      
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</div><div id="lrcmtcont"></div><div class="end_story">- Ends</div><div class="dottedimg"></div><div class="authors__container"><div class="authors__by"><div class="authlable">Published By: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Shyam Balasubramanian</div></div><div class="published__on"><div class="authlable">Published On: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Apr 24, 2026 18:51 IST</div></div></div>

up-front

UP Front

<p><font color="#c0392b" face="verdana, geneva, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 58px;"><b>O</b></span></font>n April 6, India’s nuclear energy programme officially stepped into its second stage with the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam achieving first criticality—the point at which a sustained and controlled fission chain reaction begins. Once it is fully operational, India will become only the second country after Russia to run a commercial fast breeder reactor. A closer look at the science and strategy behind this milestone:</p><div data-embed-button="ckeditor_image" data-entity-embed-display="view_mode:media.image" data-entity-type="media" data-entity-uuid="9a45f422-b771-473b-9894-855ce14c8983" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"><article class="media media--type-ckeditor-image media--view-mode-image">
  
      
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</div><div id="lrcmtcont"></div><div class="end_story">- Ends</div><div class="dottedimg"></div><div class="authors__container"><div class="authors__by"><div class="authlable">Published By: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Shyam Balasubramanian</div></div><div class="published__on"><div class="authlable">Published On: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Apr 24, 2026 18:51 IST</div></div></div>

At the moment, Russia is the only country in the world to run a commercial fast breeder reactor

India Today

Nuclear programme | A critical leap - India Today

Nuclear programme | A critical leap

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Nuclear programme | A critical leap

At the moment, Russia is the only country in the world to run a commercial fast breeder reactor

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