Pokhran is a city and a municipality located in Jaisalmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is a remote location in the Thar Desert region and served as the test site for India's first underground nuclear weapon detonation.Pokhran shot into International Limelight on September 7, 1972 when the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi gave authorization to the scientists at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Trombay to detonate an indegenously designed nuclear device. Throughout its development, the device was formally called the "Peaceful Nuclear Explosive", but it was usually referred to as the Smiling Buddha. Smiling Buddha was the code-name of the project as a signal to China and was scheduled to occur on May 18, 1974 (the official test date), Buddha Jayanti, a festival day in India marking the birth of Gautama Buddha. The code name of the project has been listed as Operation Happy Krishna according to US Military resources.
First underground nuclear explosion at Pokhran in Rajasthan on May 18, 1974. Photo shows a view of the creater formed after the explosion. 
The head of the development team was Raja Ramanna. Other key members were P.K. Iyengar, Rajagopala Chidambaram, and Nagapattinam Sambasiva Venkatesan. The project employed no more than 75 scientists and engineers from 1967-1974. Keeping it small served to aid in the preservation of secrecy, according to the researcher Jeffrey Richelson.The device used a high explosive implosion system, developed at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)'s Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), Chandigarh, based on the American design from World War II. But the Indian design was simpler and less sophisticated than the American system. The 6 kg of plutonium came from the CIRUS reactor at BARC, Trombay, Mumbai (then Bombay). The neutron initiator was a Polonium-Beryllium type (again like those used in early U.S. bombs of the Fat Man type) code-named "Flower." The complete core was assembled in Trombay before transportation to the test site. In 1975, Homi Sethna (chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission), Raja Ramanna and Nag Chaudhuri (head of the DRDO) received the Padma Vibhushan - India's second highest civilian award. Five other project members received the Padma Shri - India's fourth highest civilian award.
Pokharan-II Pokharan-II refers to test explosions of five nuclear devices, three on 11 May and two on 13 May 1998, conducted by India at the Pokhran test range. The test was conducted when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government was in power with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister. These nuclear tests resulted in a variety of sanctions against India by a number of major states. The detection of the test preparations by American satellites in 1995, had taught a lesson to the Indian scientists. It was decided that preparations for the May 1998 tests should be undertaken under a cloud of secrecy so that foreign powers could not detect the preparations and try to pressure the government. Extensive measures were taken in order to deceive intelligence agencies around the world. The decision to test was not disclosed even to senior cabinet ministers. The preparations were managed by a closed group of scientists, military officers and politicians.Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister, and Dr. R. Chidambaram, the head of the Department of Atomic Energy, were the chief coordinators for the operation. They were assisted by the 58th Regiment of the Army Engineering Corps in preparing the test site. Scientists from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) were involved in assembling the weapons, moving them to Pokhran, placing them into shafts in the ground and laying a network of sensors to gather data during the explosions.
The Regiment 58 Engineers had learned much since the aborted 1995 test preparations about avoiding detection by American satellites. Much work was done at night, and heavy equipment was always returned to the same parking spot at dawn so that satellite image analysts would conclude that the equipment was never moved. Piles of dug-out sand were shaped to mimic the wind shaped dune forms in the desert area. The shafts were dug under camouflage netting. When cables for sensors were laid they were carefully covered with sand, and native vegetation was replaced to conceal the digging 
The scientists involved in the operation took care to ensure that even their close friends and colleagues would not detect the work being undertaken at Pokhran. All scientists involved in the operation did not depart for Pokhran simultaneously, but left in groups of two or three. One group would use the pretext of attending a seminar or a conference, and would tell their wives that they could not be contacted while they were away. 
Shakti-1 Thermo-Nuclear weapon during 1998 Pokhran-II nuclear tests.Tickets were bought for a destination other than Pokhran (or cities nearby) under pseudonyms, and after arriving at their destination, the group would secretly leave for the military base in Jaisalmer from where they would be taken by the army to Pokhran. After finishing their work the group would return, retracing their path. Then another group would leave for the range employing similar means to do their work. In this way, information about the test was kept tightly under wraps. All technical staff at the range wore military fatigues, so that in satellite images they would appear to be military personnel maintaining the test range
A general view shows the carter at Shakti-1 of underground nuclear explosion test conducted on May 11, 1998 at Pokhran in Rajasthan.
On the diplomatic front, India adopted a policy of ambiguity about deciding to go nuclear. Statements by Indian politicians and diplomats gave an impression to the world that India was not yet decided about its nuclear status. Deliberate steps were taken to ensure that the world community would not take the BJP's campaign promises seriously. In separate meetings with American officials, Foreign secretary K.Raghunath and Defence Minister George Fernandes stated that India had not yet decided about going nuclear and they also conveyed to the officials that the National Security Council would be meeting soon to discuss the matter and decide about the nuclear option. The council was to meet on the 26th of May. Both the Indian officials had categorically told the Americans that "there would be no surprise testings". All this led the Americans and the world community to believe that India was not going to pursue the nuclear option in the near future. They did not take the BJP's campaign promises seriously and hence did not expect an Indian nuclear test so soon.
Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) retains all the characteristics of voting by ballot papers, while making polling a lot more expedient. Being fast and absolutely reliable, the EVM saves considerable time, money and manpower. And, of course, helps maintain total voting secrecy without the use of ballot papers. The EVM is 100 per cent tamper proof. And, at the end of the polling, just press a button and there you have the results
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is India's primary nuclear research facility. .It has a number of nuclear reactors, all of which are used for India's nuclear power and research programme. BARC was started in 1954, as the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET), and became India's primary nuclear research centre, taking over charge of most nuclear scientists that were at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. After Homi J. Bhabha's death in 1966, the centre was renamed as the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.
The Prithvi was India's first indigenously developed ballistic missile to result from 
The National Security Guard (NSG) was set up in 1984 as a Federal Contingency Deployment Force to tackle all facets of terrorism in the country.Thus the primary role of this Force is to combat terrorism in whatever form it may assume in areas where activity of terrorists assumes serious proportions, and the State Police and other Central Police Forces cannot cope up with the situation. The NSG is a Force specially equipped and trained to deal with specific situations and is therefore, to be used only in exceptional situations. The Force is not designed to undertake the functions of the State Police Forces or other Para Military Forces of the Union of India. The NSG is a Federal Contingency Deployment Force to handle anti-hijack operations, rescue operations and to provide tough support to the Central Para Military Forces in dealing with anti-terrorist activities in whatever shape they may take place in different parts of the country
Research and Analysis Wing is India's external intelligence agency. Formed in September 1968 after the Sino-Indian War of 1962 and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, its primary function is collection of external intelligence, counter-terrorism and covert operations. In addition, it is also responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and persons in order to advise Indian foreign policymakers. Until the creation of R&AW in September 1968, the Intelligence Bureau handled both internal and external intelligence.The R&AW has its headquarters on Lodhi Road in New Delhi.The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), created in 1968, has assumed a significant status in the formulation of India's domestic and foreign policies, particularly the later.
The National Defence Academy is a premier Inter Service training institution where future officers of Armed Forces are trained. The training involves an exacting schedule of 3 years before the cadets join their respective Service Academies, viz. Indian Military Academy, Naval Academy and Air Force Academy.The history of soldiering in India goes back to the medieval ages when India defended its western borders against attacks from the West. The names of Porus and Chandra Gupta Maurya immediately come to mind, who gave Alexander the great, his first taste of tough resistance and defeat. The history of present day Army can be traced back to the days of East India Company when the Presidency armies, namely the Bombay,Madras and Bengal Presidencies started recruiting Indian troops.
National Cadet Corps is a Tri-Services Organisation,comprising Army, Navy and Air Force, engaged in grooming the youth of the country into disciplined and patriotic citizens.The origin of NCC can be traced back to the 'University Corps' , which was created under the Indian Defence Act 1917 , with the object to make up the shortages of the Army. During the Independence movement, the leaders of our nation had realised the need to create a national level youth organisation, to train and groom young boys as responsible citizens and future leaders of our great country in all walks of life.
National Defence College, NDC, is a pioneering institute of its type in Asia. The basic role of the college has remained largely unchanged since 1959, when the President of India sanctioned “the setting up of a National Defence College for providing instruction to senior service and civil officers in the wider aspects of higher direction and strategy of warfare.” Today, NDC continues to provide future decision-makers with the necessary skills and background for filling senior positions in national security and associated fields.Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India, inaugurated the National Defence College (NDC) on April 27, 1960.
. The Central Reserve Police Force came into existence as the Crown Representative's Police on the 27th July'1939.It became the Central Reserve Police Force on enactment of the CRPF Act on 28th December' 1949. It has completed 60 years of glorious history. The Force has grown into a big organisation with 191 Bn (173 executive Bns including 2 Mahila Bns, 10 RAF Bns, 5 Signal Bns and 1 Special Duty Group) 35 Group Centres including a Signal GC, 10 training Institutions, 2 CWS, 7AWS, 1 SWS, 2 MWS, 3 Base Hospitals and one 100 bed composite Hospital with a backup of well knit administrative set up covering the entire geography of the country.
National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bangalore is a constituent Institution under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research of India. NAL is a high technology oriented institution concentrating on advanced topics in the aerospace and related disciplines. Originally started as National Aeronautical Laboratory, it was renamed National Aerospace Laboratories to reflect its major involvement in the Indian space programme, its multidisciplinary activities and global positioning. It is India’s only civilian aerospace laboratory with a high level of competence and the expertise of its scientists is globally acknowledged.
The Border Security Force, established on December 1, 1965, is responsible for guarding India's land borders during peacetime and preventing trans-border crimes. It is a Central paramilitary force operating under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. The Indian Union has a federal structure and is made up of several states, somewhat like the United States. From independence in 1947 to 1965, India's international boundaries were guarded by the local armed police battalions of every border state - with little or no inter-state co-ordination.
The Indian Coast Guard [Bharatiya Thatrakshak] was constituted as the fourth armed union of India, on 19 August 1978, under the Coast Guard Act. The force's main function is to protect India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), covering an area of 2.02 million sq. km, and operates under the effective control of the Ministry of Defense. Coast Guard vessels and aircraft have been assisting the custom authorities in anti-smuggling operations and has effectively served national interests in high-risk areas. They are also used in SAR operations, anti-pollution and other duties in maritime zones.
The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict,was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir..The cause of the war was the infiltration of Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri militants into positions on the Indian side of the Line of Control. During and directly after the war, Pakistan blamed the fighting entirely on independent Kashmiri insurgents, but documents left behind by casualties and later statements by Pakistan's Prime Minister and Chief of Army Staff showed involvement of Pakistani paramilitary forces.
The Indian television system is one of the most extensive systems in the world. Terrestrial broadcasting, which has been the sole preserve of the government, provides television coverage to over 90% of India's 900 million peopleBy the end of 1996 nearly 50 million households had television sets. International satellite broadcasting, introduced in 1991, has swept across the country because of the rapid proliferation of small scale cable systems. By the end of 1996, Indians could view dozens of foreign and local channels and the competition for audiences and advertising revenues was one of the hottest in the world. In 1995, the Indian Supreme Court held that the government's monopoly over broadcasting was unconstitutional, setting the stage for India to develop into one of the world's largest and most competitive television environments. 
During mid- sixties the Co-operative sector in India was responsible for distribution of 70 per cent of fertilisers consumed in the country. This Sector had adequate infrastructure to distribute fertilisers but had no production facilities of its own and hence dependent on public/private Sectors for supplies. To overcome this lacuna and to bridge the demand supply gap in the country, a new cooperative society was conceived to specifically cater to the requirements of farmers. It was an unique venture in which the farmers of the country through their own Co-operative Societies created this new institution to safeguard their interests. The number of co-operative societies associated with IFFCO have risen from 57 in 1967 to 38,155 at present.
The Parama Vira Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration awarded for the highest degree of valour or self-sacrifice in the presence of the enemy.The PVC was established on 26 January 1950 (the date of India becoming a republic), by the President of India, with effect from 15 August 1947 .It can be awarded to officers or enlisted personnel from all branches of the Indian military. It is the second highest award of the government of India after Bharat Ratna (amendment in the statute on 26 January 1980 resulted in this order of wearing). It replaced the former British colonial Victoria Cross (VC). 
Digboi is a town and a town area committee in Tinsukia district in the north-eastern part of the state of Assam, India.The town's history begins in 1867 when a small group of men from the Assam Railway and Trading Co. found their elephants' legs soaked in black mud, that smelt somewhat like oil. The men began exploring more, and in 1889, the English started a small oil installation. India (and Asia) obtained its first refinery in Digboi in the year 1901. Various web sites offer variations on the elephant’s foot story, a consensus of which would be that engineers extending the Dibru-Sadiya railway line to Ledo for the Assam Railways and Trading Company (AR&TC) in 1882 were using elephants for haulage and noticed that the mud on one pachyderm’s feet smelled of oil. Retracing the trail of footprints, they found oil seeping to the surface. One of the engineers, the Englishman (not Canadian) Willie Leova Lake, was an ‘oil enthusiast’ and persuaded the company to drill a well.
LCA is an advanced technology, single seat, single engine, supersonic, light-weight, all-weather, multi-role, air superiority fighter designed for air-to-air, air-to-ground and air-to-sea combat roles. LCA is the world's smallest, light weight, multi-role supersonic combat aircraft. It has been designed to meet the requirements of Indian Air Force as its frontline multi-mission single-seat tactical aircraft.The LCA design has been configured to match the demands of modern combat scenario such as speed, acceleration, maneuverability and agility. Short takeoff and landing, excellent flight performance, safety, reliability and maintainability, are salient features of LCA design. The LCA integrates modern design concepts like static instability, digital fly-by-wire flight control system, integrated avionics, glass cockpit, primary composite structure, multi-mode radar, microprocessor based utility and brake management systems. 
The Jaipur leg is a rubber-based prosthetic leg produced under guidance of Dr. P. K . Sethi by Masterji Ram Chander in 1969 for victims of landmine explosions. Designed in, and named for Jaipur, India; the prosthetic leg was designed to be inexpensive, quick to fit and manufacture, and to be water-resistant. The jaipur foot is fitted free of cost by Bhagwan Mahavir Viklang Sahyata Samiti, founded by Devendra Raj Mehta. It costs approxamately U.S. $40.To further improve the quality of Jaipur Limb, total contact socket systems have been incorporated in below-knee prosthesis. For the above-knee prosthesis design have been changed from quadrilateral sockets to Ischial Containment sockets using IPOS brims and total contact sockets.
There are no chores to be done. Life couldn't be more comfortable for 'Baba' Jaswant Singh Rawat... but for the fact that he is no more.
Border Roads Organisation, also known by its acronym BRO,is a unique combination of officers from the corps of engineers of Indian army and Border Roads Engineering Service (BRES) officers from General Reserve Engineer Force ( GREF ) to maintain roads that serve the borders areas. The BRO contributes to the army's other duties and supplies units that are part of the defence forces. BRO's activities have helped to accelerate the economic development of the North and North Eastern border states. The roads construction teams have to deal with some of the harshest climate in the world. The BRO has some formidable hurdles, the icy Himalayan tops, the marshes of West Bengal, the deserts in Rajasthan. BRO undertakes road constructions and maintenance at high altitude in the hills. Some of the BRO roads are built as high as 5,000 metres above mean sea level.
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has assembled `KALI-5000' is a powerful electron accelerating machine assembled by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, which, its scientists say, can potentially be used as a beam weapon.
Army Day is celebrated on January 15 every year in India, in recognition of Lieutenant General (later Field Marshal) K. M. Cariappa's becoming the first Indian Commander-in-Chief in 1948. The day is celebrated in the form of parades. In 2008, the 60th Army Day was celebrated. Looking back from the current day, when the Indian Army projects power and sinew, it becomes difficult to remember the kind of fledgeling it was in 1947 Grit and experience affect the growth of an institution. Fighting four major wars, insurgency and other low intensity wars has indeed made it an eminently and effficient battle trained, war machine. The basic responsibility of the Army is to safeguard the territorial integrity of the nation against external aggression. Due to the country’s long borders encompassing different geographical and climatic conditions such as desert terrain on the west, snow-covered mountains in the north and thick rainfed mountainous jungles in the east, the Army has to constantly prepare itself for diverse challenges.
The early history of British expansion in India was characterised by the co-existence of two approaches towards the existing princely states. The first was a policy of annexation, where the British sought to forcibly absorb the Indian princely states into the provinces which constituted their Empire in India. The second was a policy of indirect rule, where the British assumed suzerainty and paramountcy over princely states, but conceded some degree of sovereignty to them. .. 
India, a nation that has undergone complete transformation after it got independence from the British Rule. But somehow the influence from the West never ceased to affect our culture and the growth of the Nation. The three major transforms taken from the entire lot is the way Mobiles, Cars and Malls have brought to the India nationality.
The positive role that dairying could play in providing income and employment opportunity was clear to policy-makers long time back and a set of measures were put in place to develop and protect the dairy industry. Immediately after India gained independence, the Milk Control Board was set up which controlled the supply and distribution chains.
India and space laws: A millennium perspective
India is a country with a diversity of languages. Out of more than one thousand mother tongues, only eighteen languages are included in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution. Development of a particular state or region, to a very great extent, depends on the development of its regional language. This was an important reason given at the time of the formation of linguistic states, though many criticized such a linguistic “division” or “re-organization”.
Past two decades have seen an unprecedented rise in the number of farmer suicides in our country. Across the nation, lacks of farmers have taken their lives in these years. Though this process is on for almost 2 decades, but it is only now that the nation is getting to know the seriousness and the extent of it. We are going through the worst ever farm crisis in the history of our nation.
3rd December 1984 Shortly after midnight poison gas leaked from a factory in Bhopal, India, owned by the Union Carbide Corporation. There was no warning, none of the plant's safety systems were working. In the city people were sleeping. They woke in darkness to the sound of screams with the gases burning their eyes, noses and mouths. They began retching and coughing up froth streaked with blood. Whole neighbourhoods fled in panic, some were trampled, others convulsed and fell dead. People lost control of their bowels and bladders as they ran. Within hours thousands of dead bodies lay in the streets.
The Emergency in India denotes the 21-month period between June 25, 1975 and March 21, 1977 when President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, upon advice by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, declared a State of Emergency in India under Article 352 of the Constitution of India, effectively bestowing on her the power to rule by decree, suspending elections and civil liberties. It is one of the most controversial periods in the history of independent India. During the Emergency, many opposition leaders were jailed, freedom of press was suspended and powers of the judiciary were curtailed
The Ancient Legend 
The All India Muslim League (AIML) was formed in Dhaka in 1906 by Muslims who were suspicious of the Hindu-majority Indian National Congress. They complained that Muslim members did not have the same rights as Hindu members. A number of different scenarios were proposed at various times. Among the first to make the demand for a separate state was the writer/philosopher Allama Iqbal, who, in his presidential address to the 1930 convention of the Muslim League said that a separate nation for Muslims was essential in an otherwise Hindu-dominated subcontinent.
