Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman toured the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) facility in Cadarache, France on 4 July 2026, underscoring India's role as a founding partner in the global nuclear fusion project.
The ITER project in Cadarache, France is the world's largest experimental Tokamak — a magnetic confinement device designed to replicate the fusion energy of the sun, with 35 nations collaborating on its construction.
India is one of the seven founding members of the ITER organisation — alongside the European Union, USA, Russia, China, Japan and South Korea — and contributes components, systems and expertise to the project.
Nuclear fusion — the process powering the sun — promises virtually limitless, low-carbon energy. Unlike fission, it produces no long-lived radioactive waste, making ITER a centrepiece of global clean-energy research.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's stopover at ITER in Cadarache on 4 July 2026 is part of a broader visit to France, highlighting India's engagement with multilateral science projects alongside bilateral economic ties.
The ITER Tokamak in Cadarache is reportedly on track to achieve first plasma in the coming years — a milestone that scientists say would mark a decisive step toward commercially viable nuclear fusion energy worldwide.