Kakrapar Atomic Power Project

• The fourth unit of the Kakrapar Atomic Power Project (KAPP-4) in Gujarat, with 700 MWe capacity, started controlled fission chain reaction and thus became critical.
  • Kakrapar is situated about 80 km from Surat.

• The reactor’s first criticality was ascertained after it met all the conditions set out by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), India’s nuclear safety watchdog.

• The 700 MWe units are the largest indigenous nuclear power reactors to be built by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).
• These reactors are pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs), which use natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as coolant and moderator.

ABOUT NPCIL

• It is a public sector undertaking of the Department of Atomic Energy.
• The NPCIL presently operates 23 nuclear electricity reactors with a total capacity of 7,480 MWe.
• It has nine units, including KAPP-4, under construction while 10 more reactors, with a total capacity of 7,000 MWe, are in the pre-project phase.