As India prepares for a fresh debate in parliament on the implementation of the Women's Reservation Bill, a powerful example of Nari Shakti is already unfolding deep inside the country's first commercial 500 MW fast breeder reactor. At Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu, inside the control room of India's most advanced atomic reactor, women engineers are playing a defining role in shaping the nation's energy future.
The Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor or PFBR, operated by Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited or BHAVINI, recently achieved a historic milestone when it attained criticality.
It marked the first sustained nuclear fission reaction in India's second stage nuclear programme and a decisive step towards long term energy security. The moment was quiet, technical and deeply significant. And among those present in the control room when history was made, was Mrs Santana Jha, a nuclear engineer who once chose to walk away from a comfortable career in the software industry.
Trained as a mechanical engineer in Jabalpur, Jha left behind what she describes as a cushy job at IBM to work at India's first commercial fast breeder reactor.
On April 6, she was inside the PFBR control room when criticality was achieved.
"It was a very quiet process," she recalled. "Everyone was concentrating on the control rod raising. When the reactor physics measurements came and we raised the rods, the counts showed that criticality had happened. The reactor physicist and control room operator declared that criticality had been achieved," she said.
There were no loud celebrations. Instead, came a deep sense of fulfilment after years of sustained effort. "It was mixed emotions," Santana Jha said. "So many years of hard work. Everyone gave 100, even 200 per cent. That day was the result."
Her presence at that defining moment was no coincidence.
Women have been integral to the PFBR project from its earliest days. Out of a total workforce of 440 at BHAVINI, 87 are women, working across scientific, technical, human resources, finance, corporate and medical roles. They have contributed continuously -- from construction and commissioning to the current phase of round-the-clock reactor operations.
Women at PFBR are not confined to support roles. Many are heading key sections and are part of crucial decision-making processes.
In fact, in BHAVINI's journey, a woman reached the highest executive level. Smt Rajani Sankaran served as CMD in Charge for a brief but important period from November 2014 to January 2015. Her leadership marked an early and strong signal of institutional confidence in women leadership within India's nuclear establishment.
Santana Jha's own career reflects this culture of trust and opportunity. She is licensed for main plant as well as fuel handling operations and has worked across both main plant operations and critical fuel systems.
She speaks of confidence while working in an atomic facility. "I am not afraid at all," she said, "I feel very confident working here. I have worked in every critical situation and every critical plan. I got equal opportunity and full support from my seniors. We can work here without fear."
She was also present during another symbolic moment at PFBR, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the reactor complex. During the visit, Jha played a key operational role when the first control rod was lowered.
"We were depositing the first control rod," she explained. "The Prime Minister was right there and we lowered it in front of him."
Standing beside the Prime Minister as the operation was carried out, she remembers a leader deeply engaged with the technology. "He was very happy and asked many technical questions about fuel handling operations," she said.
The PFBR occupies a unique place in India's energy strategy. As a sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor, it forms the backbone of the second stage of India's three stage nuclear programme envisioned by Dr Homi J. Bhabha. Unlike conventional reactors, fast breeder reactors produce more fissile material or fuel than they consume, paving the way for efficient use of India's limited uranium resources and eventual utilisation of thorium.
The successful attainment of criticality means the reactor core is now sustaining a controlled nuclear fission reaction. The next steps involve gradually increasing power levels and moving towards full commercial operation. When that happens, PFBR will not just generate electricity, it will validate decades of Indian scientific investment and open the door to a future fleet of breeder reactors.
For Santana Jha and many other women at PFBR, the mission goes beyond engineering. "Yes," she said firmly, when asked about India's energy independence. "We are working hard, giving our 100 per cent. We will go to power operation very shortly."
As parliament prepares to debate political representation for women, the nuclear sector is already offering a quiet but powerful counterpoint. Inside the control room of India's most advanced atomic reactor, women engineers who overcame stereotypes and mastered some of the most complex technologies on earth are proving that Nari Shakti is not a slogan, but a lived reality.
From Kalpakkam, where atomic reactions are carefully controlled and national dreams steadily powered, women are not just participating in India's nuclear journey. They are front-ending it.
