Jairam Ramesh highlights India’s fast breeder reactor milestone

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday highlighted the historic achievement of India’s 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam going critical, underlining the nation’s growing capabilities in advanced nuclear energy.

In a post on X, he noted that India now joins Russia as the only countries with commercial fast breeder technology, which will pave the way for harnessing the country’s vast thorium reserves.

“The 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam went critical yesterday. India is the only country other than Russia which will have commercial fast breeders that will then enable the utilisation of our vast thorium reserves,” Ramesh wrote, emphasizing the strategic importance of the achievement for India’s energy future.

He described the reactor as the culmination of more than three decades of relentless effort by India’s nuclear energy establishment. “This reactor is the result of over three decades of dedicated, dogged, disciplined, and determined effort on the part of our nuclear energy establishment—the foundations of which were laid by the Bhabha-Nehru duo and so many other distinguished nuclear scientists and technologists who came later,” he said.

Recalling his own visit to Kalpakkam in 2008, Ramesh highlighted the inspiration he drew from interacting with leading nuclear scientists. “I vividly recall my own visit to Kalpakkam in July 2008 and the interactions I had with Dr. Baldev Raj and his team. It was a most inspiring morning,” he wrote. He also suggested that the Prime Minister could have acknowledged the continuity of effort behind this milestone, reflecting decades of work by India’s scientific community.

The PFBR at Kalpakkam, part of India’s three-stage nuclear programme, is expected to play a pivotal role in the country’s pursuit of energy self-reliance. By using plutonium to breed more fuel and eventually tapping into thorium reserves, the technology could transform India’s long-term energy landscape, demonstrating the nation’s commitment to innovation in nuclear science.