- India observes the
National Technology Day on May 11 to mark thePokhran Nuclear tests and celebrate the country’s technological advancements. - India had detonated five nuclear bombs during Operation Shakti in Pokhran.
- This marked India’s entry into the nuclear club.
The National Technology day is observed every year on May 11 to celebrate the technological advancements in India. On May 11, 1998, India successfully conducted its first nuclear test in Pokhran in an operation codenamed as ‘Operation Shakti’.
The operation was led by late President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister. The nuclear test was followed by sanctions from several countries including the United States and Japan.
As per
reports, India currently has around 130 to 140 nuclear warheads and has a stockpile of 0.58 tons of weapons-grade plutonium.
Advertisement
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to mark the National Technology Day.
“On National Technology Day, our nation salutes all those who are leveraging technology to bring a positive difference in the lives of others. We remember the exceptional achievement of our scientists on this day in 1998. It was a landmark moment in India’s history.” said PM Modi in a tweet.
On National Technology Day, our nation salutes all those who are leveraging technology to bring a positive differen… https://t.co/UipA06StqO
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 1589163652000
He further added, “The tests in Pokhran in 1998 also showed the difference a strong political leadership can make.”
Advertisement
Greetings to fellow countrymen on #NationalTechnologyDayOn this day in 1998, India established itself as a nuclea… https://t.co/4x26Yl4bby
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) 1589160840000
What was Operation Shakti?
On May 11, 1998 India successfully detonated the ‘Shakti-1’ nuclear bomb at the Indian Army’s Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan as part of the Indian Army’s Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan.
The first three underground nuclear tests marked India’s entry into the nuclear club. Two more detonations were conducted on May 13.
Advertisement
Soon after the tests, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared India as a ‘nuclear state’, making it the sixth country to possess nuclear weapons and the first country that was not part of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT).
It is to be noted that this is not the first time when India conducted nuclear tests. India had conducted the first nuclear tests during May 1974 as part of ‘Operation Smiling Buddha’.
The day also celebrates the country’s first indigenous aircraft ‘Hansa-3’ which made its first flight in Bengaluru. The country also successfully test fired the Trishul missile on the same day as India conducted the nuclear tests in Rajasthan.
Advertisement
See also:
The US accuses China of conducting nuclear tests after blaming it for the Covid-19 pandemic