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.