As India celebrates the National Technology Day today, President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchanged greetings and thanked the country’s scientific community on the 21st anniversary of the Pokhran-II nuclear bomb tests.

The day holds a significant milestone in the history of country’s technological innovations as India successfully tested nuclear bombs in Pokhran on May 11, 1998, and is commemorated every year by honouring the architects of such innovations.

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On this day, late President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam led the Indian team of scientists to successfully test-fire the Shakti-1 nuclear missile at Rajasthan’s Pokhran test range.

DRDO added to the day’s importance by successfully completing the test-fire sessions of India’s Surface-to-Air Trishul missile.

With all these achievements, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced May 11 as the National Technology Day.

President Kovind early in the day tweeted, “Greetings to our scientific community on National Technology Day, marking the anniversary of the Pokhran Tests of 1998. India is committed to using technology to accelerate the developmental process, and ensure a dignified existence for every citizen.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also extended his greetings on the occasion.

“Greetings on National Technology Day! We remember with immense pride the accomplishment of our scientists on this day in 1998. The hard work of our scientists has always ensured a stronger and safer India. May we continue leveraging the power of technology for national progress,” PM tweeted.

He further said the “patriotism and farsightedness of AB Vajpayee and his team played a major role in the success of tests of 1998”.

On account of the important day, several industrial leaders quoted how technology drives the universe the present era.

Neelesh Kriplani, Sr. VP and Head – Center of Excellence (CoE), Clover Infotech says, “technology is playing the role of an enabler to help businesses achieve the objective of providing real value to the customers at a competitive cost, in the most relevant, productive and creative way”.

Ms Gauri Bajaj, Director, Cybersecurity (APAC), Tata Communications says that although India has progressed in its digital journey, the adoption of cybersecurity, in particular, remains a key challenge.

“It is imperative that employees are sensitised to the risk of security breaches and trained to respond in such a scenario,” she added.

GOQii CEO and founder Vishal Gondal illustrated the importance of AI and predictive technology in the healthcare and fitness sector.

Kishan Jain, Director, Goldmedal Electricals also quoted how digital technologies such as internet of things (IoT), home automation, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and connected devices play a major role in making our homes and businesses more efficient.