The Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI) is a wholly owned Public Limited Company and a central institution of the Government of India, operating under the administrative control of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). It was incorporated on October 22, 2003, as a Public Limited Company under the Companies Act, 1956, with the specific objective of constructing and operating Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs). BHAVINI was created to solve the problem of India's long-term energy security by enabling the second stage of the country's three-stage nuclear power programme, which aims to transition to a sustainable, self-reliant, thorium-based fuel cycle.
The core mechanism of BHAVINI is the construction, commissioning, operation, and maintenance of FBRs for electricity generation, in pursuance of the schemes under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962. Its flagship project is the 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) located at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu. The PFBR utilizes indigenous design and technology developed by the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR). Once the PFBR achieves commercial power production, BHAVINI will become the second power utility in India, after the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), to generate electricity from nuclear fuel sources.
BHAVINI's work is currently focused on the commissioning of the PFBR, which recently commemorated its First Criticality on April 9, 2026. This milestone is a crucial step towards commercial operation, which was expected by mid-2024. Furthermore, the government has approved pre-project activities for the subsequent 2 x 500 MWe twin unit of FBR 1&2 project at Kalpakkam, demonstrating the continuity of BHAVINI's mandate to expand India's FBR capacity.