Every year, National Technology Day is celebrated in India on 11th May to commemorate the first of the five tests that were carried out on that day in 1998. It is a celebration across the country by various scientific and industrial organizations and educational institutions. National Technology Day is an occasion to recall the achievements of India in the field of science and technology and to acknowledge the partnership that has existed between the scientific communities of India and the other friendly nations. It is also to acknowledge the excellence in science and technology of the Indian defence and security.
DECLARATION OF NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY DAY
The 1962 Sino-Indian war taught an unforgettable lesson to the Indian Government. Indians felt the need to have a strong military force with a comprehensive capability so as to safeguard its territory and interests from neighbouring countries. China conducted its nuclear test in 1964 which made the Indian government think of indigenous program to develop nuclear weapons. As a consequence the Indian nuclear weapons program was started in the year 1964. Preliminary studies were carried out at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and plans were developed to produce plutonium and other bomb components. The program was put on hold after the demise of Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru. When Indira Gandhi took over as Prime Minister, the program was revived in the year 1968. Finally India's first nuclear test was conducted in 1974 at Pokhran.
India came under hectic criticism by international community and after the 1974 test India decided to temporarily stop nuclear testing. Till 1995, successive governments followed suit. In 1995, Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao planned to go ahead with further tests. The then President of United States of America, Bill Clinton exerted much pressure on Indian Government to stop the test when the American satellites picked up signs of preparation. When the Bharathiya Janata Party came to power under the prime ministership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee the question of nuclear testing surfaced once again and it was decided that the preparations should be undertaken under a blanket of secrecy so that other nations would in no way detect the preparations. The preparations were managed by a closed group of scientists, military officers and politicians and even members of cabinet at the top level were not aware of what was going on. Statements by Indian politicians and diplomats posed a view of India being non decisive of going nuclear.
Statements by Indian politicians and diplomats gave an impression to the world that India was not yet decided about its nuclear status. It was stated that the National Security Council would be meeting on the 26th May to discuss the matter and decide about the nuclear option. The Americans and the world community believed that India was not going to pursue the nuclear option in the near future. It was under these circumstances that India finally conducted its second group of nuclear tests on 11th and 13th of May 1998.
This significant achievement in the field of one of the most powerful and rare technologies of the 20th century remains indicative of the technological capability of India. No wonder, 11th May 1998 was officially declared as the National Technology Day by the then Prime Minister of India .
TECHNICAL PERSONNELS INVOLVED IN POKHRAN
Following are the key personalities that have played a vital role in making India's indigenous nuclear program come true.
- Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (later, President of India), Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and Head of the Defence Research and Development Organisation.
- Dr. R. Chidambaram, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Atomic energy.
- Dr. Anil Kakodkar, Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
- Dr. Satinder Kumar Sikka, Director; Thermonuclear Weapon Development.
- Dr. M.S. Ramkumar, Director of Nuclear Fuel and Automation Manufacturing Group; Director, Nuclear Component Manufacture.
- Dr. D.D. Sood, Director of Radiochemistry and Isotope Group; Director, Nuclear Materials Acquisition.
- Dr. S.K. Gupta, Solid State Physics and Spectroscopy Group; Director, Device Design & Assessment.
- Dr. G. Govindraj, Associate Director of Electronic and Instrumentation Group; Director, Field Instrumentation.
- Defence Research & Development Organization of Defence Research and Development Organisation
- Dr. K. Santhanam; Director, Test Site Preparations.
- Dr. M.Vasudev; Range Safety Officer.
CELEBRATION
The Govt. of India declared the National Technology Day with an objective of focusing the attention of the nation on issues of technological development and advancement. One of the main objectives of observing the National Technology Day is to develop the Spirit of Innovation. Several events are organized to mark the occasion. Every year a theme relating to the technological development/ issues is selected and the focus of the celebration is towards this theme. Relevant lectures, competitions and presentations on various aspects of science are arranged to mark the day.
It is an occasion for all stakeholders, viz. scientists, engineers, planners and all others engaged in governance and nation building, to take stock of the achievements in science and technology and a close look at the developments over the past year for the various events planned for the day. As a mark of appreciation and recognition of the contributions made to the field of technology individuals and industrial houses in the field of science and industry are presented with awards. The services of Scientists and engineers working for various Institutions like the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are honoured.
CONCLUSION
With the institutional, strategic, technological and manpower strengths that it possesses India has made rapid strides in every field of technology, right from agriculture to software and the National Technology Day makes the people of India to remember this fact. The capabilities of Indian Scientific temper is made known to the global arena. On the eve of the first anniversary of the Pokhran tests on 11th May, 1999, the Chariman of Indian Space Research Organisation, Dr. Kasturirangan declared that India's Polar Synchronous Launch Vehicle (PSLV) had the capability to launch a spacecraft to the Moon within 10 years. In 9 years, ISRO launched Chandrayaan-1 from Sriharikota on October 22nd 2008. Innovative technology was adopted for the mission and and it was stated that the new set of data collected would help in unravelling mysteries about the origin and evolution of solar system in general and that of the moon in particular.