National Technology Day 2021: India’s biggest achievements, history, significance, theme and more

Every year on May 11, India celebrates National Technology Day. In 2021, on India’s 30th National Technology Day, we look at some of the huge advancements the country has made in Science and Technology.

On this day in 1998, India carried out three successful nuclear tests at the Indian Army’s Pokhran Test Range, located in Rajasthan. The tests, codenamed ‘Operation Shakti’, were conducted on May 11 in 1998 were led by the late President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. It was followed up by two more nuclear tests that were carried out on May 13, 1998. At the time, India became the sixth country in the world to join the elite nations of the world to have nuclear weapons. The first National Technology Day was celebrated a year after on May 11, 1999, to commemorate the achievement.

Each year, the Technology Development Board (TDB) assigns a different theme to this historic day. This year’s theme is “Science and Technology for a Sustainable Future”. Last year’s theme was Rebooting the Economy through Science, Technology and Research Translations’ or ‘RESTART’.

Since 1999, the Technology Development Board has been honouring scientists and engineers and their technological innovations contributions that have aided in the growth of the nation. According to the Technology Development Board, “The National Award for Successful Commercialisation of Indigenous Technology is given to an industrial concern for successfully developing & commercialising an indigenous technology on this day.” This award is presented at a large-scale event in New Delhi by the President of India.

The HAL Tejas, India's single-engine, fourth-generation, multirole light fighter, takes its first flight.

EVMs become the standard for voting across the country, reducing both the time taken to vote and declare results.

BrahMos enters into service in the Indian Navy. It is the world's fastest anti-ship cruise missile in operation.

Chandrayaan-1, India’s first unmanned space mission to the moon.

India becomes one of five nations in the world to launch a nuclear submarine named INS Arihant.

The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) was successfully launched in 2013, making India the first Asian nation to reach Martian orbit and the first nation in the world to do so on its maiden attempt.

The GSLV-D 5 rocket was powered for the first time by an Indian-made liquid-fueled cryogenic engine. ISRO scientists and engineers spent over two decades developing cryogenic engineering technology.

PSLV-C37 was launched from the First Launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in 2017. At the time, the rocket carried a record-breaking total of 104 satellites.

ISRO made a path-breaking discovery, inventing the atomic clock. The clock is useful in navigating satellites and measuring the precise location data.

India’s first Hydrogen Fuel Cell (HFC) prototype vehicle undergoes successful trials. The vehicle was developed by The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and KPIT, a Pune-based multinational corporation.

We end this story on National Technology Day with an inspirational quote by India’s 11th President, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam; "Change is crucial. It brings new thought; new thought leads to innovative actions."