Anil Kakodkar

1. ⚛️ Born in 1943 in the Barwani princely state, Anil Kakodkar grew up with Gandhian freedom fighters as parents, a backdrop that shaped his fierce commitment to India's nuclear self-reliance. 2. In 1964, fresh from earning a mechanical engineering degree at VJTI Mumbai, Kakodkar joined BARC — where he would soon pioneer the design of the Dhruva reactor, a wholly indigenous and high-tech marvel. 3. 🔥 He stood at the very heart of India’s nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998, moments that shifted global perceptions and asserted India’s sovereign nuclear identity on the world stage. 4. From 1996 to 2000, Kakodkar led BARC as its Director, steering rehabilitation of reactors at Kalpakkam and Rawatbhata that had once teetered on the brink of shutdown. 5. 🌱 A visionary for India’s energy future, Kakodkar champions thorium—an abundant but underutilized resource in India—designing advanced reactors to generate 75% of electricity from thorium by blending it with uranium-233 and plutonium fuels. 6. 🏛️ Beyond the lab, he chaired IIT Bombay’s Board of Governors from 2006 to 2015, shaping engineering education at one of India’s premier institutes. 7. Awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2009, Kakodkar remains a key voice pushing India toward nuclear energy self-sufficiency. 8. ❓ How will Kakodkar’s thorium-based reactor designs redefine global nuclear energy and India's quest for sustainable power?