The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board reported on 1 May 2026 that it had issued permission for Major Equipment Erection at Units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project on 30 April 2026. The permission allows Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited to install major plant equipment, including the reactor pressure vessel, steam generators and coolant pumps. For civil-services preparation, the decision is important because it marks the movement of two new nuclear units from civil-construction assessment into a more advanced equipment-installation stage under the nuclear regulator's supervision.
AERB said the approval followed satisfactory completion of a multi-tier safety review of the units' design against the safety requirements specified by the regulator. It also assessed the progress of civil construction work carried out under the earlier April 2021 permission for First Pour of Concrete. The release adds that Units 5 and 6 incorporate advanced safety features required by AERB's Safety Code on the Design of Light Water Reactor-based nuclear power plants, aligned with the latest safety requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The Kudankulam site is in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu and is being established in technical collaboration with the Russian Federation. It consists of six pressurised-water reactor units of VVER design, each with 1,000 MW(e) capacity. Units 1 and 2 have been in operation since 2013 and 2015 respectively. Units 3 and 4 are in an advanced stage of construction and had already received AERB permission for major equipment erection. The 1 May release therefore places Units 5 and 6 within the same regulatory progression, while keeping safety review and staged permission at the centre of India's civil nuclear expansion.