India GK Map Guide
Practice MapHeavy Water Plants of India — Map & Complete List
Heavy water (D2O) is the moderator and coolant that makes India's fleet of pressurised heavy-water reactors (PHWRs) work — and the 8 plants built under the Heavy Water Board programme to produce it form their own distinct map, separate from the reactor sites they supply.
This is a blank practice map, not a pre-labeled reference map. Every location on it is left for you to identify and mark yourself — the facts on this page are your answer key for filling it in, exactly the way it's used for exam revision.
8 plants under the Heavy Water Board programme
4 currently active: Manuguru, Kota, Thal, Hazira
Nangal (Punjab) was India's first, in the 1960s
Which heavy water plants are still active?
Four plants are currently active: Manuguru, Kota, Thal, and Hazira. The other four — Nangal, Baroda, Tuticorin, and Talcher — have been shut or suspended over the decades as the active plants absorbed their production capacity. Nangal is worth marking separately as the historical starting point: it was India's very first heavy water plant, built in the 1960s, before any of the currently active four existed.
Why do these plants cluster where they do?
Heavy water plants tend to sit near either their original fertiliser-plant feedstock or the PHWR reactor site they supply directly — Kota and Thal are named for the reactor sites right next door to them. That's the useful pattern to learn: this isn't a randomly scattered list, it's a map that mostly explains itself once you know a plant is built to serve a specific reactor cluster.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many heavy water plants are there in India?
8 in total, built under the Heavy Water Board programme — 4 currently active (Manuguru, Kota, Thal, Hazira) and 4 shut or suspended.
Which was India's first heavy water plant?
Nangal, in Punjab, built in the 1960s — the historical starting point of the programme.
What is heavy water used for?
It's the moderator and coolant used in India's fleet of pressurised heavy-water reactors (PHWRs), a technology distinct from most other reactor types.
Get the printed map
Practice MapShips as a blank outline, ready to fill in — the facts above are your answer key.
