National Technology Day 2021(May 11)

National Technology Day 2021 on May 11 to celebrate the achievements and contributions of Indians to science and technology. On May 11, 1998, India conducted three successful nuclear tests at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan under Operation Shakti. The National Technology Day was observed for the first time on May 11, 1999.

Pokhran nuclear tests were a series of five explosions conducted by India at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range. Former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, known as India's 'Missile Man' spearheaded the Pokhran tests. The then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared India a nuclear state, making it the sixth country to join the elite 'nuclear club'. The five nuclear tests were codenamed Operation Shakti and the whole operation is also known as Pokhran II.

The mission was carried out by the Indian Army in collaboration with scientists from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMDER). These tests made India capable of building thermonuclear weapons and fission bombs.