Assess the role of public-sector heavy-engineering firms in indigenising India's nuclear power supply chain.

Indigenising the nuclear supply chain means making reactor-grade heavy equipment in India instead of importing it. Examples are steam generators and other large reactor components. Public-sector firms, especially BHEL, have anchored this effort since the 1970s. Their contribution is real, but order flow, project pace and logistics have held it back.

Contributions

• Early capability: BHEL's Tiruchi nuclear shops built the first steam generator for the Madras Atomic Power project at Kalpakkam in 1976 [1]. That plant (MAPS) now runs two 220 MWe PHWR units [2].
• Scaling up: BHEL won its first steam-generator order for the 700 MWe rating, worth ₹345 crore, for NPCIL's Kakrapar project [3]. This moved domestic manufacturing up to the current standard reactor design.
• Fleet-mode demand: In June 2017, the government approved ten indigenous 700 MW PHWRs in fleet mode [4]. A standard design with repeat orders lets domestic suppliers recover their investment in plant and skills.
• Public-sector partnerships: The NTPC–NPCIL agreement to jointly develop nuclear plants brings in more public capital and project-execution skill [5]. BHAVINI's Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor reached first criticality in April 2026 [6], taking indigenisation into the programme's second stage.

Limitations

• Irregular orders: NPCIL has had to place bulk orders and widen its vendor base to keep suppliers' work continuous [7]. Gaps between orders leave specialised shops idle.
• Slow execution: The first fleet project, Kaiga-5&6, reached first pour of concrete only years after the 2017 approval [8]. Manufacturing capacity therefore ran ahead of site readiness.
• Logistics: The 1976 steam generator was too wide for rail. It stood 13 days at BHEL's gate waiting for highway clearance [1]. Moving over-dimensional cargo is still a hidden cost.
• Narrow vendor base: Depending on a few large public-sector firms concentrates risk. NPCIL now reserves certain equipment for Class-1 local suppliers and gives MSMEs preference in bids [7].

Overall, public-sector heavy-engineering firms laid the foundation for an indigenous reactor supply chain and later scaled it up to 700 MWe. How much more they can do depends on steady fleet-mode orders, faster project execution and a wider MSME vendor base. With these in place, they can make nuclear power a reliable, self-reliant part of India's clean-energy mix, in line with Atmanirbhar Bharat and SDG 7.