India’s First 700 MWe Nuclear Plant Starts Operations In Gujarat; PM Modi Says ‘It Is Another Milestone’

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hailed the starting of operations at India’s first indigenously developed 700-megawatt electric (MWe) nuclear power reactor at Kakrapar Atomic Power Project (KAPP) in Gujarat. The prime minister also called it ‘another milestone’ towards the country’s progress.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, PM Modi wrote, “India achieves another milestone. The first largest indigenous 700 MWe Kakrapar Nuclear Power Plant Unit-3 in Gujarat starts operations at full capacity. Congratulations to our scientists and engineers.”
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) is constructing two 700 MW pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) at Kakrapar, which is also home to 220 MW power plants.
On the initiation of operations at Kakrapar Atomic Power Project (KAPP), Union Home Minister Amit Shah also congratulated the scientists and engineers involved in the project.
“India’s power acquires a new dimension today as our largest indigenous 700 MWe Kakrapar Nuclear Power Plant Unit-3 in Gujarat starts operations at full capacity. It is a firm step towards attaining PM @narendramodi Ji’s vision of self-sufficiency in power production. My heartfelt congratulations to the scientists and engineers involved in the project,” Shah wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The NPCIL aims to build 16 700 MW PHWRs across the nation and approved financial and administrative sanctions for the project. Construction of 700 MW nuclear power plants is also underway at Gorakhpur in Haryana (GHAVP 1 and 2), and Rawatbhata in Rajasthan (RAPS 7 and 8).
Meanwhile, the government has also approved the construction of 10 indigenously constructed PHWRs in a fleet mode in four locations including Gorakhpur in Haryana, Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan, Chutka in Madhya Pradesh, and Kaiga in Karnataka.