POWER CENTRE
BHEL | ESTABLISHED IN 1956
THE JOURNEY SO FAR
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) was conceived in the late 1950s to become the face of India’s industrial development. Its first factory manufacturing power plant equipment came up in 1956 in Bhopal but it started making profits only in 1971-72. Since then it has expanded its base to 15 manufacturing units across India. It manufactures over 180 products for sectors ranging from power to telecommunications. Over 70 per cent of power generated in India comes from BHEL-supplied equipment. Three out of four Indian homes are lit up with power generated by BHEL equipment. It is the largest public sector undertaking in terms of employment and revenue generation.
Of the 35,000 MW per annum capacity India has for power plant equipment manufacturing, BHEL alone constitutes 20,000 MW. With 150 project sites across India and abroad, it is the largest operating PSU. One of the largest engineering and manufacturing companies in India, BHEL has lifted India’s standing in sectors as diverse as transportation, energy, oil, gas, water and defence. It has also made India self-sufficient in engineering and is the country’s largest profitable PSU.
Today, BHEL products are exported to 82 countries across six continents. It has cumulative overseas installed capacity of nearly 10,000 MW. This year, BHEL bagged its largest ever export order, valued at $1.5 billion (Rs 10,000 crore), to set up a 1,320 MW (2 x 660 MW) Maitree Super Thermal Power Project in Bangladesh. This is BHEL’s largest power project order in the international market.
THE ROAD AHEAD
BHEL is banking heavily on developing a 1,000 MW ultra-super critical unit in partneship with NPCIL and ISRO. This will reduce the consumption of coal and improve equipment efficiency. Along with this, it is expanding the businesses in capital goods manufacturing for railways, defence, solar PV and other industrial products.