POKHRAN-SANTHANAM 2 LST

Santhanam had last month described the May 11, 1998
test as a 'fizzle' (failure to achieve expected yield) and
said India needed to conduct more tests besides not signing
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

His contention, however, did not receive much
attention from the government with Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh saying "a wrong impression has been given by
some scientists which is needless".

Kalam, who as Director General of the DRDO was
involved in the nuclear tests in 1998, said the tests were
successful and had generated the desired yield.

India conducted five nuclear tests on May 11 and 13,
1998 at the Pokhran range in Rajasthan which included a 45
kiloton (kt) thermonuclear device, called as hydrogen bomb in
common parlance.

The other tests on May 11 included a 15 kt fission
device and a 0.2 kt sub-kiloton device. The two simultaneous
nuclear tests on May 13 were also in the sub-kiloton range --
0.5 and 0.3 kt.

Kalam, also Scientific Adviser to the Defence
Minister, then Atomic Energy Commission Chairman R Chidambaram
and then Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Anil
Kakodkar were key players in the Pokhran-II tests. PTI