National Technology Day is observed on

Correct — C, 11 May. National Technology Day marks 11 May 1998, when India carried out the Pokhran-II nuclear tests, flew the indigenous Hansa-3 light aircraft for the first time and successfully test-fired the Trishul surface-to-air missile. Three technological milestones fell on one day, and the government designated it accordingly, with the observance beginning the following year.

• (a)9 August — 9 August is remembered in India for the launch of the Quit India Movement in 1942. It carries no technology observance.
• (b)8 September — 8 September is International Literacy Day, proclaimed by UNESCO.
• (d)17 May — 17 May is World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, marking the founding of the International Telecommunication Union. It is an international observance, not India's technology day.

National Technology Day is observed by the Department of Science and Technology through the Technology Development Board, which also confers National Technology Awards on that day to firms and institutions that have commercialised indigenous technology. Each year the observance carries a theme.

The date is easiest to hold through what happened on it rather than as a number. Pokhran-II, conducted under the codename Operation Shakti at the Pokhran range in Rajasthan, was the headline event, but the day was framed around all three achievements together, which is why it is a technology day rather than a nuclear anniversary. Keeping the neighbouring dates separate is the other half of the work, since 11 May sits close to several international observances that examiners like to place alongside it.

• National Technology Day is observed on 11 May every year.
• It commemorates the Pokhran-II nuclear tests of 11 May 1998, conducted under the codename Operation Shakti.
• The first flight of the indigenous Hansa-3 aircraft and the successful test firing of the Trishul missile also fell on that date.
• The Technology Development Board, under the Department of Science and Technology, leads the observance and gives the National Technology Awards.
• 9 August is Quit India Day, 8 September is International Literacy Day and 17 May is World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.

• Treating the day as a purely nuclear anniversary; the aircraft and the missile are part of the reason for it.
• Mixing 11 May with 17 May, which is an international telecommunication observance.
• Assuming National Science Day is the same thing; that falls on 28 February and marks the Raman effect.

A date-recall item. The efficient preparation is a single list of national and international days, since the wrong options are always drawn from it.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  National Science Day in India is observed on 28 February to commemorate

  • (a)the Pokhran-II tests
  • (b)the discovery of the Raman effect
  • (c)the launch of Aryabhata
  • (d)the founding of the Indian Space Research Organisation

  Answer(b) the discovery of the Raman effect — announced by C V Raman on 28 February 1928, which is a different day from National Technology Day.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The 1998 nuclear tests at Pokhran were conducted under the codename

  • (a)Operation Vijay
  • (b)Operation Shakti
  • (c)Operation Sindoor
  • (d)Operation Meghdoot

  Answer(b) Operation Shakti — the series of tests on 11 and 13 May 1998 that National Technology Day commemorates.