National Technology Day 2023: History, Milestones, Major Announcements, More
National Technology Day marks India's successful 1998 nuclear tests, code-named Operation Shakti.
India is celebrating its 25th National Technology Day today. Every year on May 11, the country honours and acknowledges the contributions of scientists and engineers. The day marks India's successful nuclear tests, code-named Operation Shakti, in Pokhran in 1998, which were conducted under the leadership of former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee first declared May 11 as National Technology Day in 1999 to honour Indian scientists, engineers, and technologists.
Let's take a quick look back at the day's venerated history.
Pokhran-II
In 1974, under the leadership of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, India made its first tentative foray into nuclear power. The Pokhran-I test was carried out by Gandhi in 1974 on Buddha Purnima. The test was described as a "peaceful nuclear explosion" to appease Western nations and prevent the danger of sanctions from them.
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had well know dream of making India a nuclear-capable state. When he first became Prime Minister in 1996, he tried to fulfil this long-standing dream. However, before the plans could have been shaped, his government fell in just 13 days.
In 1998, the situation was a little different. The Bharatiya Janata Party came back to power in March 1998 and Atal Bihari Vajpayee once again became the Prime Minister of India. R Chidambaram, the head of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), and APJ Abdul Kalam, the chief of DRDO, were called on April 8 to receive approval for the nuclear tests. The entire operation was overseen by Prime Minister Vajpayee and his principal secretary, Brajesh Mishra, who kept the operation under tight control from the Prime Minister's Office. The operation was carried out with utmost secrecy, and only the Home Minister at the time, LK Advani, was informed.
Even Defence Minister George Fernandes was notified of the tests on May 9, while the three army chiefs and foreign secretary were informed over the next three days. The Cabinet Committee on Security shared the information on May 11, the day of the first explosion.
The Pokhran operation was achieved by a team led by K Santhanam, the director of test site preparation, along with nuclear scientists and engineers, who arrived in Pokhran in May 1998, accompanied by Kalam and Chidambaram. The team worked under cover of darkness to evade detection by US spy satellites and dug tunnels when the satellites were not overhead. They disguised themselves in army uniforms and dug bomb shafts under camouflage. The nuclear devices were transported from various locations in the country to avoid arousing suspicion.
At around 3:45 PM on May 11, 1998, India successfully tested three devices - the thermonuclear device (Shakti I), the fission device (Shakti II), and a sub-kiloton device (Shakti III). On May 13, India detonated two more sub-kiloton devices – Shakti IV and V. India conducted five nuclear tests.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee later declared a nuclear state, becoming the sixth nation to join the "nuclear club," and the first to do so without being a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The NPT is an international treaty that aims to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and achieve nuclear disarmament, signed by the US, Russia, the UK, France, and China.
National Technology Day
The celebration of National Technology Day was started one year later by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999 to honor Indian scientists, engineers, and technologists, who worked for India’s scientific and technological advancement and ensured the successful conduct of Pokhran tests in May 1998. Since then, National Technology Day is observed every year on May 11. It is celebrated with a new and different theme every year. This year's theme is "School to Startups- Igniting Young Minds to Innovate".
The 25th National Technology Day will be commemorated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi by inaugurating a programme at Pragati Maidan. The event will run from May 11 to 14. Modi will also lay the foundation stone and dedicate multiple scientific projects worth over Rs 5,800 crore to the nation.
May 11 Marks Many Significant Milestones
Even if National Technology Day is celebrated to celebrate India's second nuclear test, the date is related to several other scientific milestones.
On May 11, 1998, India completed the final test fire of the Trishul missile, which was then inducted into service by the Indian Army and Indian Airforce. Trishul is a short-range, quick-reaction, surface-to-air missile and a part of India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.
On May 11, 1998, the First indigenous aircraft "Hansa-3" was test flown at Bangalore.
Several significant technology initiatives have been introduced on National Technology Day over the years.
Major Announcements By Government On National Technology Day
National Technology Day has been used by the government as a venue for a number of significant announcements and projects in the fields of science and technology. To encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in the nation, the government introduced the Startup India initiative in 2016.
In order to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship among young Indians, the government established the Atal Innovation Mission in 2018.
In order to establish a framework for research and development in the fields of cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence, the government introduced a new programme in 2018 called the National Mission on Cyber-Physical Systems.
The National Research Foundation, a new research fund that the government stated would be established in 2019, intends to advance research and innovation in the nation.
The PM-STIAC (Prime Minister's Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council) was established by the government in 2020 to provide advice to the Prime Minister on matters relating to science and technology.
Also Read: National Technology Day 2023: PM Modi To To Dedicate Scientific Projects Worth Rs 5,800 Crore
What's On The Card This Year
The programme and celebrations marking National Technology Day 2023 have a special focus on Atal Innovation Mission (AIM). Highlighting the theme of this year's National Technology Day, the AIM Pavilion will showcase multiple innovative projects and provide an opportunity for the visitors to witness live tinkering sessions, engage in tinkering activities, and witness outstanding innovations and products by startups.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone and dedicate to the nation multiple projects related to scientific and technological advancement in the country, worth more than Rs 5,800 crore.
Among these, he will lay the foundation stone for Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory - India (LIGO-India), which will be one of the few laser interferometer gravitational wave observatories in the world. Modi will also virtually dedicate 'Rare Earth Permanent Magnet Plant, Visakhapatnam' to the nation, which will place India in a select group of countries with the ability to produce Rare Earth Permanent Magnets.
Recognition Of Indian Scientists
National Technology Day is also an occasion to recognise and celebrate the contributions of Indian scientists and technologists in various fields.
To celebrate the Technology Development Board (TDB), a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India by the virtue of its mandate, honours technological innovations that have helped in the national growth under the aegis of ‘National Technology Award’ from the year 1999. The second category for SSI units was introduced in 2000, which was later renamed as ‘MSME’ category. Further, in order to recognize and reward the remarkable work done by startup incubators, DST instituted the ‘Technology Business Incubator’ category in 2004.
From 2017 onwards, the ‘startup’ category has been introduced to encourage & promote technologies developed by start-ups having the potential for commercialization. Similarly, from 2021 onwards a new category for ‘Translational Research’ in Science and Technology has been introduced by TDB.
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