Operation Smiling Buddha 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.
Kalpakkam is a township in Tamil Nadu, India, situated on the Coromandel Coast 70 kilometres south of Chennai. A conglomerate of two villages and a DAE township, it is about 55 kilometres (34 mi) from Thiruvanmiyur and 85 kilometres (53 mi) from Pondicherry. This coastal town is humid. Summers here prevail from early March till late May. Temperatures in the Summer vary from 32 degrees Celsius and can go up to 41 degrees Celsius. There is no particular Monsoon season for Kalpakkam as rains are unpredictable here, although there is heavy rainfall in the months of October and November, usually turning into a storm. The coolest months are December and January. A study by the Madras Atomic Power Station(MAPS) revealed that the pollution in Kalpakkam is very low, which when compared to the neighbouring city Chennai is 50 times less.
Homi Jehangir Bhabha, was an Indian nuclear physicist, founding director, and professor of physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). Colloquially known as "Father of the Indian nuclear programme", Bhabha was also the founding director of the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET) which is now named the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in his honour. TIFR and AEET were the cornerstone of Indian development of nuclear weapons which Bhabha also supervised as director.
Anil Kakodkar is an Indian nuclear physicist and mechanical engineer. He was the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India and the Secretary to the Government of India, he was the Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay from 1996 to 2000. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour, on 26 January 2009.
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is India's premier nuclear research facility, headquartered in Trombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra. Founded by Homi Jehangir Bhabha 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. In 1966 after the death of Mr. Bhabha, AEET was renamed as Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
The Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI) is an Indian deemed university established by the Department of Atomic Energy, which unifies academic programmes of several of its constituent institutions. Deemed universities in India have been divided in three categories by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and HBNI has been placed in category 'A', highest of the three categories. Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai and its Constituent Units are the institutions of excellence as per section 4(b) of "The Central Education Institutions Act, 2006".
The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is a department with headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. DAE was established in 1954 by a Presidential Order. DAE has been engaged in the development of nuclear power technology, applications of radiation technologies in the fields of agriculture, medicine, industry and basic research. DAE comprises five research centres, three industrial organisations, five public sector undertakings and three service organisations. It has under its aegis two boards for promoting and funding extramural research in nuclear and allied fields, mathematics and a national institute. It also supports eight institutes of international repute engaged in research in basic sciences, astronomy, astrophysics, cancer research and education. It also has in its fold an educational society that provides educational facilities for children of DAE employees. The important programmes of the DAE are directed towards:
Rawatbhata is a city, Tehsil and Nagar Palika in Chittorgarh District, Rajasthan, India. It is 131 km from Chittorgarh city, 50 km from the nearest city, Kota. The city has eight nuclear power stations, an under-construction nuclear fuel complex, and a heavy water plant. Rawatbhata also has the biggest dam of Rajasthan, Rana Pratap Sagar Dam, which is built on the Chambal River. The dam is equipped with a 172 MW hydroelectric power station.
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.
Rajagopala Chidambaram is an Indian Physicist who is known for his integral role in India's nuclear weapons program; he coordinated test preparation for the Pokhran-I (1975) and Pokhran-II (1998).
The Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology is a unit of Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, engaged in R&D in non-nuclear front-line research areas of lasers, particle accelerators and related technologies.
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.
Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology in short known as "BRIT" is a unit of the Department of Atomic Energy with its headquarters in Navi Mumbai, India. Board of Radiation & Isotope Technology (BRIT), the unit of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), is focused on bringing the benefits of the use of radio isotope applications and radiation technology across industry, healthcare, research and agricultural sectors of the society.
Mankhurd is a railway station on the Harbour Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. It is the last stop on the line on Salsette Island before leaving for Navi Mumbai on mainland Maharashtra.
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.
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 BARC. 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.
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).
