Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (11) expressed his "gratitude" towards the scientists and their "efforts" that resulted in the "successful Pokhran tests in 1998" on the occasion of National Technology Day which is observed on May 11 every year to commemorate the first of the series of nuclear tests (Operation Shakti) that the Indian government had carried out on this date 25 years ago. A few tests were carried out two days later. Tributes are paid to scientists, researchers and engineers for their technological contributions to the nation on this day.
Modi also remembered the "exemplary leadership" of his late predecessor Atal Behari Vajpayee who had shown a resolute leadership at the time and went ahead with the tests overlooking international challenges. According to Modi, Vajpayee had shown "outstanding political courage and statesmanship".
Vajpayee, who passed away in 2018, also belonged to India's current ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is led by Modi.
“Today, on National Technology Day, we express gratitude to our brilliant scientists and their efforts that led to the successful Pokhran tests in 1998. We remember with pride the exemplary leadership of Atal Ji who showed outstanding political courage and statesmanship,” PM Modi wrote on Twitter.
Former Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee stands next to an Indian national flag, as he makes an announcement at his residence in New Delhi on May 11, 1998. Vajpayee announced that India had successfully conducted three underground nuclear tests in Pokhran, in the desert of Rajasthan. (Photo by JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images)
He also shared a video of the tests that were carried out in Pokhran in the desert in the north-western state of Rajasthan along with the post.
The tests were a series of five nuclear bomb test blasts and with them, India had become the sixth country to join the nuclear club.
It was the second instance of India conducting nuclear testing. The first, code-named Smiling Buddha, was carried out in May 1974.
This year, the theme for the day was ‘Integrated Approach in Science & Technology for Sustainable Future’ -- launched by India's environment minister Jitendra Singh.
A youth carries an elderly man as they wade through a flooded street after heavy rainfall in Wellampitiya on the outskirts of Colombo on November 30, 2025. The death toll from floods and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah has risen to at least 334 people across Sri Lanka, with nearly 400 still missing, the Disaster Management Centre said on November 30. Getty Images
A man carries his cat across a flooded road in Wellampitiya on the outskirts of Colombo on November 29, 2025. Sri Lanka made an appeal for international assistance on November 29 as the death toll from heavy rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah rose to 123, with another 130 reported missing. Getty Images