National Technology Day 2024: Date, Theme, History, Significance & More

National Science and Technology Day 2023: National Science and Technology Day is celebrated across the country on May 11 every year. This day commemorates the achievements of engineers and scientists in the fields of science and technology. This day takes on special significance during the current pandemic. Be it the invention of COVID-19 vaccines or artificial oxygen instruments that calculate width for patients, modern technology has become key to saving human lives today.

National Technology Day: History

As we have seen above, nuclear test was conducted in Pokhran on May 11, 1998 and based on these great achievements of scientists, engineers etc. Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared May 11 as National Technology Day. Since 1999, the Technology Development Board (TDB) celebrates this day every year through various technological innovations that have had a positive impact on the country. In addition, TDB selects a theme every year and holds some activities and competitions in the country based on this. This day also marks the importance of science in our daily lives.

National Technology Day: What it means

– On May 11, 1998, the first domestically produced aircraft “Hansa-3” took flight in Bangalore.

– India successfully test-fired the Thrissur missile on the same day.

– There were very few countries with nuclear power at that time and India had emerged as one of the elite players and became the sixth country to join the nuclear club.

– Operation Shakti (Pokhran-II) was launched on May 11, 1998.

– Every year on this day, the Technology Development Council of India confers national awards to various individuals for their contribution to indigenous technology.

Therefore, we can say that this day celebrates the importance of science in our daily lives and inspires us to pursue science as a career field.

What is Operation Shakti?

Did you know that Smiling Buddha was the first nuclear test conducted in Pokhran in May 1974?

The second test was the Pokhran-2 test, a series of five nuclear bomb explosion tests conducted by India in May 1998 at the Indian Army’s Pokhran Test Range.

Operation Pokhran II or Shakti consisted of five explosions, the first of which was a fusion bomb and the other four were fission bombs.

India pokhran test

The word Shakti means power in Sanskrit. On May 11, 1998, Operation “Shakti” or “Pokhran II” was launched, detonating two fission bombs and one fusion bomb.

On May 13, 1998, two more fission bombs were detonated. The Indian government at that time was led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the then Prime Minister soon held a press conference to declare India a full-fledged nuclear power.

The operation was originally named “Operation Shakti-98” and the five nuclear devices were classified as Shakti I to Shakti V. The entire operation is now known as Pokhran II, after Pokhran I was an explosion that occurred in 1974.

National Technology Day 2024: Theme

The theme of National Technology Day 2024 is “From Schools to Startups: Inspiring Innovation in Young People”. It emphasizes on training school children to launch their own start-ups and contribute towards making India a start-up hub in the world.

This year’s theme is “Integrated approaches to science and technology for a sustainable future”. The theme was initiated by Union Minister Jitendra Singh.

The theme of National Science and Technology Day 2021 is “Technology Creates a Sustainable Future.”

The theme of National Science and Technology Day 2018 is “Technology creates a sustainable future”.

The main goal of this theme is to promote the development of technology in various fields. To this end, the department has been conducting technology development projects, including materials, equipment and processes.

Programs are organized to support technological activities in advanced or emerging fields as well as traditional sectors. Under this program, new ideas or concepts are also evaluated with a view to incorporating them into products or technologies.

National Technology Day: Celebrations

  • On this day, TDB presents national awards to the most noteworthy individuals, institutions and businesses of the year.
  • The event was attended by the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Department of Earth Sciences, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and several other scientific departments.
  • People are rewarded by the President of India for their contributions so that they become more and more outstanding in research.
  • The Ministry of Science and Technology also coordinates different activities across India.
  • All decoration and planning of the event should be done according to the theme.
  • Some institutions organize script, speech or essay competitions.
  • Topic articles are also promoted, etc.

Therefore, it is necessary to cultivate students’ interest and awareness of science and technology. There is no doubt that National Technology Day is a great way to encourage the youth of the country to come forward and to appreciate the scientists and researchers working towards the ever-evolving technology in India.

Important days and dates in May 2024Source: Dpt.College of Science and Technology

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