![All you need to know about National Technology Day](http://media.assettype.com/defencewatch%2F2023-08%2Fc6860364-6236-4fd5-b571-e319a6871556%2Fbefunky_2023_7_4_20_1_38.jpg?w=480&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max)
New Delhi: Today marked the 26th National Technology Day. The day is celebrated every year on May 11 in order to pay tribute to the scientists, researchers, engineers and others who help the country make progress in the field of technology.
The first National Technology Day was observed on May 11, 1999, to celebrate the “Operation Shakti”, through which India successfully conducted the Nuclear Missile Test at the Indian Army’s Pokhran range a year ago in 1998.
The successful testing in Pokhran made India only the sixth country in the world to possess nuclear weapons. and since then the occasion has been used to highlight the country’s technological progress in various fields.
The government under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee directed the Council for Technology to conduct the National Technology Day celebrations on May 11 from next year. Since then, the event has been an annual affair aimed at highliting India’s quest for scientific inquiry, technological creativity and innovation.
This year, the theme for National Technology Day 2024 is “School to Startups-Igniting Young Minds to Innovate” – which aims to encourage the younger generation to take up scientific research.
(Defence Watch– India’s Defence News centre that places the spotlight on Defence Manufacturing, Defence Technology, Strategy and Military affairs is on Twitter. Follow us here and stay updated.)