Site in north of county already has six units in operation
Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has begun initial fuel loading at Unit 8 of the Rajasthan nuclear power station in Rajasthan, marking a key step towards commissioning the 630-MW (net) indigenous pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR).
The plant, construction of which began in 2011, is expected to begin commercial operation during the current financial year, state-owned NPCIL said.
The process from initial fuel loading to commercial operation of the unit typically takes about six to eight months, it added.
NPCIL said initial fuel loading began at 15:18 local time on 19 September.
The start of initial fuel loading followed approval from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
“The permission was granted following rigorous safety evaluations, major system integrity audits and site readiness reviews conducted as part of the regulatory process,” NPCIL said.
Rajasthan-8 is the fourth reactor in a series of 16 indigenous 630 MW PHWRs being deployed in the country, NPCIL said.
The first two reactors in the series – Units 3 and 4 at the Kakrapar nuclear power station in Gujarat began commercial operation in 2023 and 2024, followed Rajasthan-7 in April 2025.
Rajasthan has six reactor units in commercial operation and one, Rajasthan-8, under construction. Operation of Rajasthan-1 was suspended in 2004
The operation of Rajasthan-1, the oldest reactor at Rajasthan site, was permanently suspended in 2004 due to persistent technical failures and subsequent economic and safety unviability.
New Delhi’s Ambitious Nuclear Target
According to International Atomic Energy Agency data, India has 23 nuclear units in commercial operation and eight under construction.
The country’s nuclear fleet provided 3.2% of the country’s electricity generation in 2025.
India has formalised an ambitious national target to scale installed nuclear capacity from around 7.3 GW up to 100 GW by 2047.
A government roadmap says installed nuclear power capacity is expected to increase from the current 8.78 GW to around 22 GW by 2031-32, as projects under various stages of implementation are progressively commissioned.
In July a government minister said India was accelerating the expansion of its nuclear energy programme with plans to develop and operate at least five indigenously-designed small modular reactors (SMRs) by 2033.
