Nuclear Programme Of India

Indira Gandhi built upon the foundations laid by Jawaharlal Nehru to convert India into a growing nuclear power. India conducted its first “peaceful nuclear experiment” as she described it on May 18, 1974, building up the country’s capability without anyone finding out. Without this the nuclear tests of May 1998 would not have been possible and India’s achievements in nuclear science, technology and energy would have been far from strong and self-reliant. Yet, like her father, she was a firm believer in the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.