National Technology Day on May 11

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday extended greetings to the nation on the occasion of National Technology Day.

“Greetings to my fellow Indians on the occasion of National Technology Day. Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan,” Prime Minister Modi tweeted.

• National Technology Day is regarded as a very special day for Indian technology since 1999.
• The day glorifies the importance of science in day to day life and motivates students to adopt science as the career option.
• It is celebrated annually all over the India to commemorate technological breakthroughs which included

                 1. Mastering of the nuclear weapons technology (Pokharan II) through a series of  controlled tests at Pokharan,

                 2.Test firing of the indigenously developed Trishul missile and

                 3.Test flight of the indigenous aircraft Hansa-3.

• The companies and individual are awarded with National Technology Awards for adopting new technologies by the president of India.
• The award carries an amount of 10 Lakh rupees each to the Industrial Concern and the technology provider, and a trophy each to both.
• It has introduced cash Award of 5 lakhs rupees and a trophy to be given to maximum three SSI units which have successfully commercialized a technology based product.
• The ministry of science and technology coordinate different events.

What Exactly happened on 11th May 1998 ?

• On May 11 and May 13, 1998, India conducted five nuclear tests at the Pokhran test range in Rajasthan, India.
• First of the five tests were carried out on May 11, 1998 when three nuclear devices were detonated simultaneously registering in nearby seismic stations as a 5.3 Richter Scale earthquake.
• The next two tests were carried out on May 13, 1998.
• Since then, India has imposed a self-moratarium on nuclear tests.

Pokhran 2 :

• Series of five nuclear bomb test explosions conducted by India at the Indian Army’s Pokhran Test Range in May 1998
• The second nuclear test; the first test, code-named Smiling Buddha, was conducted in May 1974.
• 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
• The operation as a whole has come to be known as Pokhran II, and the 1974 explosion as Pokhran-I.

Project Chief Coordinators :

• Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (later, President of India), Scientific Adviser to the prime minister and Head of the DRDO.
• Dr. R. Chidambaram, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Atomic energy.