India celebrates National Technology Day today but it has an interesting history. On the same day, May 11, in 1998, India successfully test-fired the Shakti-I nuclear missile at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan in an operation led by aerospace engineer and late President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

Two days later, the country successfully tested two more nuclear weapons as a part of the same Pokhran-II/Operation Shakti initiative.

It was only after these tests that the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared India a nuclear state, making it the sixth country to join the 'nuclear club' of nations.

Following these tremendous breakthrough achievements by the country's scientists, engineers, and technicians, Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared May 11 as the National Technology Day.

The tests in Pokhran in 1998 also showed the difference a strong political leadership can make.



Here is what I had said about Pokhran, India’s scientists and Atal Ji’s remarkable leadership during one of the #MannKiBaat programmes. pic.twitter.com/UuJR1tLtrL — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 11, 2020

Every year since 1999, the Technology Development Board (TDB) commemorates the day by honouring technological innovations that have added to the nation growth.

The board also selects a theme for each year's event, and the 2017 National Technology Day theme is 'Technology for inclusive and sustainable growth'.

Why is National Technology Day so important?

Instituted in the year 1999, the day holds a great importance of its own as on this particular day, India achieved a huge technological progression

India had also tested its first indigenous aircraft 'Hansa-3' on this day

After testing Hansa-3, India had performed a successful test firing of the Trishul missile and had also executed three successful nuclear tests, carried out at Pokhran, in Rajasthan

On May 11, 1998, India tested five nuclear powered bombs in Pokhran, Rajasthan, to exhibit its defence skills. This is regarded as one of the most significant moments in Indian history

Things you should know about Pokhran II

Pokhran-II was the sequence of five nuclear bomb test explosions conducted by India at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range in May 1998

It was the second Indian nuclear test; the first test, code-named Smiling Buddha, was conducted in May 1974

Pokhran-II encompasses five successfully carried out detonations

Of these five, the first detonation was a fusion bomb and the remaining four were fission bombs

These nuclear tests resulted in a variety of agreements against India by a number of major states, including Japan and the United States

On May 11, 1998, 'Operation Shakti' (Pokhran-II) was initiated with the detonation of one fusion and two fission bombs

On May 13, 1998, two additional fission devices were detonated and the Indian government led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee shortly convened a press conference to declare India a full-fledged nuclear state

Many names are credited to these tests; formerly, they were called Operation Shakti-98 (Power-98), and the five nuclear bombs were designated Shakti-I through Shakti-V.

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