Know more about the India's major nuclear test- Pokhran II

New Delhi: India became sixth country to have tested nuclear bombs and joined the elite nuclear club in 1998 as On 11 May 1998, 24 years after the first operation, the Atomic Energy Commission of India and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) carried out the joint operation, known as Pokhran-II in Pokhran city of Rajsthan. Pokaran means “the place of five mirages. It located in Jaisalmer district in Rajasthan. It is an apex research and testing site of the Indian nuclear programme and has served as the test site for India's first underground nuclear weapon detonation.The site was built by Indian Army Corps of Engineers. It is unclear when the site was built but it shot into the international limelight on 18th May 1974 when the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi verbally authorized scientists at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) at Trombay to detonate a small and miniaturized nuclear device.Pokhran-II was the series of five nuclear bomb test explosions. It consisted of five detonations, of which the first was a fusion bomb and the remaining four were fission bombs. These nuclear tests resulted in a variety of sanctions against India by a number of major states, including Japan and the United States. Many names are attributed to these tests; originally they were called Operation Shakti–98 (Power–98), and the five nuclear bombs were designated Shakti-I through Shakti-V. More recently, the operation as a whole has come to be known as Pokhran II.The main technical personnel involved in the operation were:Project Chief Coordinators:1. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (later, President of India), Scientific Adviser to the prime minister and Head of the DRDO.2. Dr. R. Chidambaram, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Atomic energy.Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO):1. Dr. K. Santhanam; Director, Test Site Preparations.Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research:1.Dr. G. R. Dikshitulu; Senior Research Scientist B.S.O.I Group, Nuclear Materials AcquisitionBhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC):1. Dr. Anil Kakodkar, Director of BARC.2. Dr. Satinder Kumar Sikka, Director; Thermonuclear Weapon Development.3. Dr. M.S. Ramkumar, Director of Nuclear Fuel and Automation Manufacturing Group; Director, Nuclear Component Manufacture:1. Dr. D.D. Sood, Director of Radiochemistry and Isotope Group; Director, Nuclear Materials Acquisition.2. Dr. S.K. Gupta, Solid State Physics and Spectroscopy Group; Director, Device Design & Assessment.3. Dr. G. Govindraj, Associate Director of Electronic and Instrumentation Group; Director, Field Instrumentation. Three laboratories of the DRDO were involved in designing, testing and producing components for the bombs, including the advanced detonators, the implosion and high-voltage trigger systems. These were also responsible for weaponising, systems engineering, aerodynamics, safety interlocks and flight trials.The bombs were transported in four Indian Army trucks under the command of Colonel Umang Kapur. News of the tests were greeted with jubilation and large-scale approval by the society in India.The Bombay Stock Exchange registered significant gains. Newspapers and television channels praised the government for its bold decision; editorials were full of praise for the country's leadership and advocated the development of an operational nuclear arsenal for the country's armed forces.Thus 11 May has been officially declared as National Technology Day in India to commemorate the first of the five tests that were carried out on 11 May 1998. The day was officially signed by the then Prime Minister of India. The day is celebrated by giving awards to various individuals and industries in the field of science and industry