Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described his Cabinet's approval of the construction of ten indigenously designed pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR) as a "big boost" for his Make in India program of localised manufacturing. The Cabinet, chaired by Modi, yesterday approved the construction of ten 700 MWe units in a "significant decision to fast-track India's domestic nuclear power program".

Australia wishes to export uranium to India "as soon as possible", Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said today. Turnbull made his comments during an official visit to India.

Three nuclear energy agreements between Bangladesh and India, including one regarding nuclear power projects in Bangladesh, have been signed during an official visit by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh to New Delhi.

Russia's ASE Group and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd have announced the "final acceptance" of unit 1 of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The two sides signed a joint statement yesterday confirming that ASE had met its contractual obligations to its customer for the Kudankulam 1 construction project.

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd has today signed an agreement provisionally accepting Kudankulam unit 2 from its Russian suppliers and thus marking the unit's entry into commercial operation.

Nuclear professionals from across Asia will be able to use new training facilities at a soon-to-be-opened Indian research centre under extended cooperation between India and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Scientists in India are using materials recovered from radioactive waste to protect babies and vulnerable patients from adverse reactions to blood transfusion. A production line at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Trombay creates medical products based on caesium-137 instead of the usual cobalt-60, with a range of benefits.

Unit 2 of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu has for the first time reached 100% of its operating capacity. ASE Group said yesterday the milestone had been achieved during the night of 22 January, following the successful completion of physical tests at the 90% capacity level and the relevant permission from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Body of India had been received.

The Indian government has approved an increase in capacity of the proposed Kovvada nuclear power plant and is conducting a new environmental impact assessment for the project, atomic energy minister Jitendra Singh confirmed yesterday.

India is set to become an associate member of European particle physics research organisation CERN, subject to final approval by the Indian government. The move followed the signature of an agreement by CERN's director general and the chairman of India's Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).

The prime ministers of India and Japan have welcomed the signature today of a nuclear cooperation agreement between the two countries. Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe said the agreement reflects a new level of mutual confidence and strategic partnership for clean energy, economic development and a peaceful and secure world.

India and Russia have officially launched the second phase of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant under construction in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu by Rosatom as part of an intergovernmental agreement signed between Moscow and New Delhi in 1998.