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A Parliamentary panel has asked the Department of Heavy Industries (DHI) to fully support Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) in getting orders from the defence sector. Representatives of DHI and BHEL had informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry (PSCI) that despite BHEL’s increasing its manufacturing capacity from 6,000 mw to 20,000 mw per year, its order book has been dwindling. BHEL’s current order inflow, at Rs.32,000 crore per year, is way below the average of Rs.60,000 crore a few years ago. Further, the order inflow is only expected to recede in the coming years.
The 31-member committee is headed by Raja Sabha MP Tiruchi Siva. Constituted on August 31, 2012, it has 10 members from the Rajya Sabha and 21 from the Lok Sabha.
BHEL has been receiving stiff competition from Chinese suppliers in the Indian market, especially in main plant equipment for thermal power plants. Chinese companies actively participating in the Indian market include Dongfang, Harbin, Shanghai Electric, Sepco, etc. It is estimated that out of the 54,964 mw of thermal power capacity added in the XI Plan period (2007-12), Chinese suppliers accounted for around 18,500 mw or 34 per cent.
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