Unit 2 of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu has been connected to the electricity grid. It becomes India's 22nd operating power reactor.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin today inaugurated unit 1 of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant. Together with J Jayalalithaa, chief minister of Tamil Nadu, where the plant is based, the two leaders conducted the inauguration via a video conference.

The Indian government is working with Westinghouse to develop a project proposal for the construction of a nuclear power plant at Kovvada, atomic energy minister Jitendra Singh has informed the country's parliament.

Kudankulam unit 2 has achieved first criticality. India's 22nd nuclear power reactor is expected to be synchronized to the country's southern grid within 30 to 45 days.

Three cracks have been found in the coolant channel which failed at India's Kakrapar 1, although the reasons for its failure will not be known for some time, the country's Atomic Energy Regulatory Board said in its latest update on the March incident which led to a leak of heavy water.

India says it remains confident of a positive outcome concerning its application for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group after the group did not decide on the matter at its latest plenary.

Westinghouse can start building six AP1000s in India following an agreement signed yesterday during talks at the White House between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama. It is the first such opportunity for a US company since the countries signed a civil nuclear deal in 2008.

Fuel loading has begun at India's Kudankulam unit 2, Russian state nuclear company Rosatom has announced.

Fuel bundles removed from a leaking coolant channel at Kakrapar unit 1 are intact and undamaged, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) said today.

UPDATED: A coolant channel assembly has been identified as the source of a coolant leak at Kakrapar unit 1, India's Atomic Energy Regulatory Board has confirmed. The unit remains in a cold shutdown state following the 11 March incident.

India has allocated an extra 30 billion rupees ($442 million) to boost nuclear power generation projects over the next 15-20 years in its 2016 budget, finance minister Arun Jaitley announced on 29 February.

India has amended its atomic energy act to enable the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) to form joint venture companies with other Indian public sector units (PSUs) in a move that will help the state-owned company to secure funding for new projects.