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Unit 7 of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Project at Rawatbhata achieved criticality, or the start of controlled fission chain reaction, according to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd.
The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board had earlier cleared the reactor to make the first approach to criticality
Criticality for the first time on the project timeline marks the completion of construction phase and commencement of the operation phase
RAPP-7 is the third reactor to go critical in a series of 16 indigenous pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) of 700 MW each the national nuclear establishment is setting up
The first two PHWRs to become critical before RAPP-7 were Units 3 and 4 of the Kakrapar Atomic Power Station in Gujarat, in 2020 and 2023
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