quick industry context for anyone tracking the global fast breeder landscape: india's 500 MWe sodium-cooled prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) at kalpakkam attained first criticality on april 6 2026 at 8:25 PM IST. that's controlled fission chain reaction at low power, not grid sync yet. atomic energy regulatory board (AERB) approval is the step-gate for each power-ascension level. three things to actually watch: AERB authorizations through july and august 2026. each step is a slip risk and history is rough: the project's about 15 years behind original schedule per IPFM. so the september grid-sync target reads as aspirational engineering, not locked-in. if grid-sync lands, india formally enters stage 2 of its three-stage nuclear program (Bhabha vision: PHWR -> fast breeders consuming the plutonium from stage 1 -> thorium). this is the operational version of an idea that's been theoretical for 50 years.…