Question

When was the second nuclear test performed?
A. 11 May 1998
B. 21 May 1998
C. 16 May 1998
D. 27 May 1998

Answer 1

Hint: After the first nuclear test, the government announced that they just wanted to make India self-reliant in nuclear technology. Twenty-four years after the first test was conducted, five more nuclear tests were conducted.

Complete answer:
The Test Range in Pokhran, a remote location in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district hosted the detonation of India’s first nuclear device with the approval of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1974. It came to be known as the Operating Smiling Buddha after the detonation while the MEA called it “Pokhran I”. The remote desert of Rajasthan was preferred by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre due to the weather and topography of the region. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre conducted the nuclear test in Pokhran to maintain the secrecy of the test. After conducting the test, the government announced that it did not intend to manufacture nuclear weapons but just wanted to make India self-reliant in nuclear technology. Atomic Energy Commission and the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation conducted five more nuclear tests on May 11, 1998. It was the second nuclear testing conducted by India. The tests give India the capability to build fission and thermonuclear weapons with a yield of up to 200 kilotons. Pokhran-II consisted of five detonations of which one was a fusion bomb and the remaining four were fission bombs. The tests were initiated under the assigned code name Operation Shakti, with the detonation of two fission bombs and one fusion bombs. Two additional fission devices were detonated on 13 May 1998. After this, the Indian government led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared India a full-fledged nuclear state.

Note: The second nuclear tests were collectively called Operation Shakti-98. The five nuclear bombs were designated by Shakti-I through to Shakti-V. As a whole, the operation has come to be known as Pokhran II.