Rawatbhata, Rajasthan 20 September 2026: Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) has achieved a major milestone in the commissioning of Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (RAPP-8) Unit-8 with the commencement of Initial Fuel Loading (IFL) on September 19, 2026.
RAPP-8 Fuel loading process began at 3:18 PM after the reactor received the required regulatory clearance from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). Milestone was marked in the presence of NPCIL Director (Operations) S. D. Paraswar, Director (Projects) N. K. Mitharwal, Site Director D. S. Rao and other senior officials.
Initial Fuel Loading is one of the most important stages in the commissioning of a nuclear power reactor. It signifies the transition from construction to operational readiness and paves the way for reactor start-up activities.
According to NPCIL, the approval for fuel loading was granted after completion of all prescribed pre-requisites, including safety assessments, system integrity checks and site readiness reviews conducted by the regulator.
RAPP-7 and RAPP-8 are twin indigenous 700 MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) being built at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan. With fuel loading now underway, Unit-8 will proceed towards its next key milestone – First Approach to Criticality (FAC), when a controlled nuclear chain reaction is achieved for the first time.
Following criticality, the reactor will undergo power ascension tests before entering commercial operation. NPCIL expects the unit to begin commercial electricity generation during the current financial year.
RAPP-8 is the fourth reactor in India’s fleet of sixteen indigenous 700 MWe PHWRs. First two units in the series, Kakrapar Atomic Power Project Units 3 and 4 in Gujarat, entered commercial operation in 2023 and 2024. RAPP-7 followed in March 2025.
700 MWe PHWR design forms the backbone of India’s near-term nuclear expansion strategy. NPCIL said the latest milestone further strengthens standardisation of the reactor design and supports its deployment in fleet mode across multiple sites.
NPCIL currently operates 24 nuclear power reactors with a combined capacity of 8.78 GWe and has 17 reactors with a total capacity of about 13 GWe under various stages of implementation. Corporation is expected to play a central role in achieving the Government of India’s target of 100 GWe of nuclear power capacity by 2047.
