Operation Smiling Buddha or Operation Happy Krishna was the assigned code name of India's first successful nuclear bomb test on 18 May 1974. The bomb was detonated on the army base Pokhran Test Range (PTR),in Rajasthan,by the Indian Army under the supervision of several key Indian generals.
Raja Ramanna was an Indian physicist who is best known for his role in India's nuclear program during its early stages.
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is India's premier nuclear research facility,headquartered in Trombay,Mumbai,Maharashtra,India. It was founded by Homi Jehangir Bhabha as the Atomic Energy Establishment,Trombay (AEET) in January 1954 as a multidisciplinary research program essential for India's nuclear program. It operates under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE),which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India.
Ravi B. Grover is an Indian nuclear scientist and a mechanical engineer. He is the founding vice-chancellor of the Homi Bhabha National Institute,a member of the Atomic Energy Commission,chairman of the Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences,a fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering,and World Academy of Art and Science. He was the president of the Indian Society of Heat and Mass Transfer for the period 2010–2013. He has been awarded Padma Shri by the Government of India in the year 2014.
The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is an Indian government department with headquarters in Mumbai,Maharashtra,India. DAE was established in 1954 with Jawaharlal Nehru as its first minister and Homi Bhabha as its secretary.
Homi Nusserwanji Sethna was an Indian nuclear scientist and a chemical engineer,gaining international fame as the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (India) during the time when the first nuclear test,codename Smiling Buddha in Pokhran Test Range in 1974 was conducted. He was the primary and central figure in India's civilian nuclear program as well as the construction of nuclear power plants. In 1991,he was appointed as Sheriff of Mumbai.
Srikumar Banerjee was an Indian metallurgical engineer. He retired as the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India (AECI) and the secretary of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) on 30 April 2012. Prior to his stint as DAE chairman,he was the director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) from 30 April 2004 to 19 May 2010. He had also served as a DAE Homi Bhabha Chair Professor at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre,Mumbai. He was known as a great physical metallurgist.
The Atomic Energy Commission of India is the governing body of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE),Government of India. The DAE is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister.
Nuclear power is the fifth-largest source of electricity in India after coal,gas,hydroelectricity and wind power. As of November 2020,India has 22 nuclear reactors in operation in 8 nuclear power plants,with a total installed capacity of 7,380 MW. Nuclear power produced a total of 43 TWh in 2020–21,contributing 3.11% of total power generation in India. 10 more reactors are under construction with a combined generation capacity of 8,000 MW.
India's three-stage nuclear power programme was formulated by Homi Bhabha,the well-known physicist,in the 1950s to secure the country's long term energy independence,through the use of uranium and thorium reserves found in the monazite sands of coastal regions of South India. The ultimate focus of the programme is on enabling the thorium reserves of India to be utilised in meeting the country's energy requirements. Thorium is particularly attractive for India,as India has only around 1–2% of the global uranium reserves,but one of the largest shares of global thorium reserves at about 25% of the world's known thorium reserves. However,thorium is more difficult to use than uranium as a fuel because it requires breeding,and global uranium prices remain low enough that breeding is not cost effective.
Padmanabhan Krishnagopala Iyengar,was an Indian nuclear physicist who is widely known for his central role in the development of the nuclear program of India. Iyengar previously served as the director of BARC and former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India,he raised his voice and opposition against the nuclear agreement between India and the United States and expressed that the deal favoured the United States.
Shivram Baburao Bhoje is a distinguished Indian nuclear scientist who worked in the field of fast-breeder nuclear reactor technology for forty years in the design,construction,operation,and research and development. Indian government has honoured him with Padma Shri in 2003,the fourth highest civilian award in India,for his distinguished service to science and engineering fields.
Ratan Kumar Sinha, is an Indian nuclear scientist and mechanical engineer. He had served as the Secretary to the Government of India,Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC),Government of India from April 2012 to October 2015. Prior to that,Ratan Kumar Sinha had served as Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC),Mumbai from May 2010 to June 2012. During the four decades of his career,Ratan Kumar Sinha held several important positions related to design &development of nuclear reactors for the Indian nuclear programme. He has been actively involved in the development of the advanced heavy water reactor (AHWR) and Compact High Temperature Reactor (CHTR),two of the highly acknowledged technological innovations which are suitable for large scale deployment of nuclear power,particularly in India.
Malur Ramasamy Srinivasan,is an Indian nuclear scientist and mechanical engineer. He played a key role in the development of India's nuclear power programme and the development of the PHWR. He received the Padma Vibhushan Award.
Jyeshtharaj Bhalchandra Joshi is an Indian chemical engineer,nuclear scientist,consultant and professor,widely known for his innovations in nuclear reactor designs and generally regarded as a respected teacher. He is the DAE-Homi Bhabha Chair Professor,Homi Bhabha National Institute,Mumbai,and is the recipient of Shantiswarup Bhatnagar Prize for Engineering Sciences and many other awards and recognitions. He received the third highest civilian honour,the Padma Bhushan,in 2014 for his services to the field of chemical engineering and nuclear science.
Sekhar Basu was an Indian nuclear scientist who served as the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary to the Government of India,Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). He also served as the Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC),the Project Director of Nuclear Submarine Program,and later as the Chief Executive of the Nuclear Recycle Board at Bhabha Atomic Research Center. He was a recipient of India's fourth highest civilian honor Padma Shri in 2014.
Chaitanyamoy Ganguly is an Indian nuclear scientist and a former head of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Materials Section of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),credited with many innovations in the field of nuclear material science. He was honored by the government of India in 2002,with the fourth-highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
Jai Pal Mittal is an Indian scientist,DAE Raja Ramanna Fellow of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and Distinguished Professor of Indian Institute of Technology,Mumbai,the National Academy of Sciences,India and the University of Pune. He is known for his researches in the fields of photochemistry and radiation chemistry. He was honoured by the Government of India in 2003 with Padma Shri,the fourth highest Indian civilian award.
Mallasamudram Subramanyam Ramakumar was an Indian mechanical engineer,scientist and roboticist,known for developing robotic and automation technologies for Indian nuclear and defence purposes. He was the director of Nuclear Fuels,Automation and Manufacturing Group of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC),Trombay. He was the first Head of Division of Remote Handling of Robotics (DRHR) at the organization. He pioneered robotic technology in India. Ramakumar was one of the key persons behind the Pokhran-II test,conducted by India in 1998. It was his team,which developed the online fuelling and coolant channel inspection systems for the power reactors for the 1998 tests.
Vasudeva Kilara Iya is an Indian nuclear scientist and the First Head of the radioisotope and radiation technology programme of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and a former Group Director at BARC (1974–1987).
