Current Affairs - State - Discussion

India's first indigenously developed 500-megawatt (mw) prototype fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu is expected to achieve criticality in 2019. This was stated by Sekhar Basu, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, at the 62th General Conference of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, on 19th September 2018. The indigenously developed Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR)is now undergoing sodium commissioning. The reactor was designed by the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR).Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam (Bhavini), a public sector company under DAE, has been given the responsibility to build the fast breeder reactors in the country.