Science and Technology Development

4.1 The Nehruvian Vision for Science

Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister (1947–1964), was personally committed to science and technology as the engine of India's development. He envisioned science as liberating India from colonial technological dependence and superstition simultaneously.

His famous phrase: "Science alone can solve the problems of hunger and poverty, of insanitation and illiteracy, of superstition and deadening custom and tradition."

Key Nehruvian S&T Institutions

• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) — founded 1942 (pre-independence), expanded rapidly; 37 national laboratories by 1960s
• Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) — established 1948 under Homi Bhabha
• Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) — 1954 (as Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay)
• IIT Kharagpur — India's first IIT, established 1951 (under N.R. Sarkar Committee recommendation)
• AIIMS Delhi — 1956, as a national institute for medical research and education
• National Physical Laboratory (NPL) — 1947 (continuation from British era)
• Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) — 1945 (pre-independence, Homi Bhabha)

Scientific Policy Resolution, 1958

Passed by Parliament in March 1958, drafted under Nehru's personal direction. This was India's first formal science policy statement. Key commitments:

1. Foster and support the cultivation of science on a large scale
2. Apply science in the service of people
3. Promote research in basic sciences
4. Recognise the special position of scientists
5. Use science for reduction of disparities among citizens

4.2 Nuclear Programme

Homi Bhabha's Three-Stage Plan

Bhabha envisioned India's nuclear energy in three stages exploiting India's vast thorium reserves (world's third largest):

1. Stage I: Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) using natural uranium → produce plutonium-239 (Pu-239) as byproduct
2. Stage II: Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) using Pu-239 from Stage I → breed thorium-232 into fissile uranium-233 (U-233)
3. Stage III: Advanced Heavy Water Reactors (AHWRs) using U-233 + Th-232 → long-term sustainable energy

India's first nuclear reactor: Apsara — became critical on 4 August 1956 at BARC Trombay; Asia's first nuclear research reactor.

Pokhran-I (Operation Smiling Buddha), 18 May 1974

Under PM Indira Gandhi, India detonated its first nuclear device at Pokhran, Rajasthan. Yield: approximately 12 kilotons. India described it as a "Peaceful Nuclear Explosion (PNE)."

It made India the world's sixth nuclear-capable country after USA, USSR, UK, France, and China. The test was kept so secret that even the CIA was surprised.

Pokhran-II (Operation Shakti), 11–13 May 1998

Under PM A.B. Vajpayee, India conducted five nuclear tests:

• 11 May 1998: Three tests — Shakti I (45 kiloton thermonuclear), Shakti II (15 kiloton), Shakti III (sub-kiloton)
• 13 May 1998: Two sub-kiloton tests

India formally declared itself a nuclear weapons state. Pakistan responded with Chagai-I and II tests (28 and 30 May 1998). The US and others imposed sanctions. India maintained its No First Use (NFU) policy.

India's Space Programme

• INCOSPAR (Indian National Committee for Space Research) — 1962 under Vikram Sarabhai
• TERLS (Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station) — first rocket launched 21 November 1963 (a French Centaure sounding rocket)
• ISRO formally established — 15 August 1969
• Aryabhata — India's first satellite, launched by Soviet Kosmos-3M rocket, 19 April 1975
• SLV-3 — India's first indigenous satellite launch vehicle, successfully launched 18 July 1980 (Rohini satellite)
• INSAT-1B (1983) — transformative for Indian telecommunications and TV broadcasting

4.3 Key Post-Independence S&T Milestones (Selected)

Year	Achievement
1951	IIT Kharagpur — first IIT established
1956	Apsara reactor goes critical — Asia's first
1958	Scientific Policy Resolution
1963	First rocket launched from Thumba
1966–71	Green Revolution — wheat production tripled
1969	ISRO established
1970	Operation Flood (White Revolution) launched
1974	Pokhran-I nuclear test (Operation Smiling Buddha)
1975	Aryabhata — first Indian satellite
1980	SLV-3 — first Indian satellite launch vehicle
1998	Pokhran-II (Operation Shakti) — 5 tests; nuclear state declared

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