Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI) is a Government Company, or Public Sector Undertaking (PSU), 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.
BHAVINI was created to focus on the second stage of India's three-stage nuclear power programme, which was conceptualized by Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha in the 1950s to leverage India's vast thorium reserves. The problem it solved was the need for a dedicated entity to construct, commission, and operate Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs), which are crucial for transitioning to the thorium-based third stage. A separate company was formed in parallel to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) to give focused attention to FBR technology and facilitate commercial borrowings without impacting NPCIL's capital structure.
The core mechanism of BHAVINI is the construction and operation 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) at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, which attained its first criticality on April 6, 2026. The PFBR is a "breeder" reactor that uses plutonium-based fuel and is designed to produce more fissile material than it consumes, thereby creating fuel for future reactors.
BHAVINI connects directly to the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), its administrative ministry, and the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), which developed the PFBR's design and technology. It is closely related to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), which handles the first stage of the nuclear programme. Recently, the PFBR's achievement of criticality on April 6, 2026, marked India's official entry into the second stage of its nuclear power programme. Furthermore, the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, limits the operator's liability to ₹15 billion in case of a nuclear accident. The Atomic Energy Act, 1962, was recently amended through the SHANTI Act, 2025, which modernizes the legal framework and permits private sector participation in nuclear power generation.