Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) is one of India's premier nuclear research centres. It is the second largest establishment of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), next to Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), located at Kalpakkam, 80 km south of Chennai, India. It was established in 1971 as an exclusive centre dedicated to the pursuit of fast reactor science and technology, due to the vision of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai. Originally, it was called as Reactor Research Centre (RRC). It was renamed as Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) by the then Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi in December 1985. The centre is engaged in broad-based multidisciplinary programme of scientific research and advanced engineering directed towards the development of Fast Breeder Reactor technology, in India. History The fast reactor related research in India, originated at BARC, Mumbai. Later, RRC was established at Kalpakkam with the same mandate. The Central Workshop, Safety Research Laboratory and Materials Sciences Laboratory were constructed in 1975–1976. Soon, the Radio-Chemistry Lab and Electronics and Instrumentation Lab were constructed. The centre houses a Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR), which attained its first criticality in October 1985. A few years later, in 1994, SQUID, ASIC and Diamond Anvil Cells were developed. In the same year, High-Power Physics and Engineering Experiments were undertaken in the FBTR. In 1996, KAMINI reactor reached criticality. State-of-the-art Neutronic Channels were commissioned for FBTR in 1999. A Boron-Enrichment Plant was commissioned in April 2001. A BARC Training School was started in 2006. In 2009, FBTR was operated at a maximum power level of 18.6 MWt with 55 sub-assemblies for 1732 hours. List of directors Paranjpe: Placid Rodriguez: 1 December 1992 – 31 October 2000 S. B. Boje: 1 November 2000 – 31 April 2004 Baldev Raj: 1 May 2004 – 30 April 2011 S. C. Chetal: 1 May 2011 – 31 January 2013 P. R. Vasudeva Rao: 1 February 2013 – 31 August 2015 S. A. V. Satya Murty: 1 September 2015 – 31 June 2016 A. K. Bhaduri: 1 July 2016– 31st August 2021 B. Venkatraman: 1 September 2021 - present Commercial reactors The facility houses two PHWRs that generate 220MWe each that operate for commercial purposes. These are managed independently by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India. Research reactors There are three research reactors at IGCAR. FBTR is a liquid metal cooled fast breeder test reactor, maintained by Reactor