'India must become strong'

According to Dr. R. Chidambaram, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), under whose stewardship the DAE conducted the five underground nuclear tests, the significance of the series of explosions lies in the fact that the five devices were of "almost all possible types, which included a fission device of advanced design, a thermonuclear device and three low-yield devices whose yields were less than one kiloton (each)." Dr. Chidambaram said that the tests indicated our mastery over another advanced technique: the three tests on May 11 were conducted simultaneously, and again on May 13, the two sub-kiloton devices were exploded simultaneously. Dr. Chidambaram is justifiably proud of the country's achievement. He said: "The most important thing is that India must become strong. The greatest advantage of recognised strength is that you don't have to use it." Excerpts from an interview he gave T.S. Subramanian:

What is the story behind the latest achievement? Compared to India's peaceful nuclear explosion experiment (PNE) in 1974 at Pokhran, how advanced are these five explosions in terms of their capability? What is special about them?

The 1974 device was a fission explosive. At that time, we were talking about the peaceful applications of nuclear explosions. What we have done now is to test a whole series of explosive devices - one can say almost all possible types - which includes a fission device of advanced design, a thermonuclear device and low-yield devices whose yields are in the sub-kiloton range, that is, less than one kiloton each. That is the significance of the explosions. On the first day (May 11), three - a fission device, a low yield device and a thermonuclear device - were detonated simultaneously, and two sub-kiloton devices were detonated simultaneously on the second day. Simultaneous detonation is an advanced technique and this is a new example in the history of nuclear explosions. Five explosions in less than 48 hours is some kind of a world record, I think. It becomes even more significant when one notes that all these devices were of different types.

How do you feel about this achievement?

This was my ambition for many years. It has been achieved.

What are the other countries that have nuclear weapons?

Actually, there are five so-called nuclear weapon states (this definition is, of course, on the basis of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which India does not accept): the U.S., Russia, the United Kingdom, France and China. I have no knowledge about the situation in Pakistan and Israel although it is said that they have nuclear weapons.

Do the tests mean that we have weaponised our nuclear option, that we actually have nuclear weapons?

No comments.

What is the role played by engineers and scientists of various groups such as the BARC Physics Group, Engineering Group, Metallurgy Group, Instrumentation Group, Control Group and so on in these five explosions? Former Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, H.M. Sethna, was a chemical engineer; Dr. Raja Ramanna was a physicist; M.R. Srinivasan was an engineer; and Dr. P.K. Iyengar was a physicist. There was a healthy rivalry between scientists and engineers.

The concept is based on physics. It has to be implemented by engineers and metallurgists. The materials that go into them and the processes that go into preparing them need large teams of people with multi-disciplinary capability. That is exactly the kind of expertise that is available in the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). Can you tell me one discipline in which we do not have the expertise at BARC? There is nothing that the DAE, including BARC, cannot do. BARC Director Dr. Anil Kakodkar is one of the most brilliant engineers in India. Dr. Kakodkar played a leading role in these tests. There are many, many others whose contributions were major. I would especially like to mention a few. Dr. S.K. Sikka was responsible for the physics and ballistics design of the devices, M.S. Ramakumar for the fissile materials and their fabrication, Dr. D.D. Sood for special materials, including tritium, and G. Govindarajan for control and instrumentation and other logistics from the DAE side.

I have also been talking about the need for synergy in India's science and technology system. These five tests have shown the close interaction between the Department of Atomic Energy and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which made a major contribution.

What was the fuel that was used in the explosions?

We are not going to reveal the materials used this time. Obviously, the design of the explosives was very complicated and it was done by means of computer programming, which is particularly complex for the thermonuclear device. The materials used are classified.

How did you keep the tests under wraps? U.S. military satellites failed to detect them in advance.

No comments.

Did the U.S. detect in advance the preparations that were being made for a nuclear test at Pokhran in December 1995-January 1996? At that time, The New York Times reported that India was preparing to conduct a second underground nuclear test at Pokhran.

No comments.

The nuclear doctrine... Should we have nuclear weapons or should we keep the options open?

No comments... The most important thing is that India must become strong. The greatest advantage of recognised strength is that you don't have to use it... everybody knows you are strong. Only when people see you as a weak country, they pressure you. We are a big country. We must learn to behave like a big country of one billion people. We should constantly remind ourselves of our strength.

The 1974 test was called the Peaceful Nuclear Explosion Experiment. Does India remain committed to the peaceful uses of nuclear power?

At that time, between 1969 and 1975, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) held a number of conferences on peaceful nuclear explosions in which I participated as an Indian delegate. In one of those meetings in 1975, Dr. Raja Ramanna (former AEC Chairman) and I presented a paper in which we explained the entire experiment of May 1974. We also wrote papers on the computer simulation of the phenomenology of the peaceful nuclear explosion experiment of 1974, which explained all the data we collected from it - the size of the mound, the size of the crater, the region where the rock was fractured and so on. At that time, the Americans and others were also discussing how peaceful nuclear explosions were useful in hydrocarbon (oil and gas) reservoir simulation, earthmoving and so on. This time, the tests have not been conducted from the point of view of a peaceful nuclear explosion.

What was the yield from each of the five tests?

The yield of the fission device was about the same as that of the 1974 experiment. The thermonuclear device had a yield three and a half times higher. The three low-yield devices had yields of less than one kiloton each. All this has been obtained from the data at the seismic station at Gauribidanur (in Karnataka) and seismic measurements at the site.

What is the significance of the timing of the five tests now? Were they dictated by Pakistan launching the Ghauri missile?

Why not now?

The official announcement said that there was no release of any radioactivity into the atmosphere... What kind of craters were formed?

The surface features developed at the ground level after the experiments were over depend on a lot of factors, including the depth of burial and geology in the immediate neighbourhood. All the explosions/tests were contained from the radioactivity point of view. There was no ground contamination at the site. A very careful computer simulation of each of the tests on the geological medium around them was done and it was established that there would be no radioactivity release. Only then were the nuclear tests authorised. Careful surveys and helicopter surveys using air-borne instruments were made immediately after the tests and there was no radiation.

How is the performance of the nuclear electricity stations in the country?

All our nuclear power plants are working well. Their capacity factor is continuously improving over the last few years. In 1997-98, the average capacity factor was 71 per cent, which compares favourably with the best international standards. The coolant channel replacement work in the second unit of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) has been completed. I am happy that this reactor will be commissioned again before the end of this month. When it starts working, it will be as good as new. Remarkable work has been done on this coolant channel replacement by the Nuclear Power Corporation in record time and at a very low cost. RAPS Project Director V.K. Chaturvedi and his team have done excellent work.

Are enough funds available for the nuclear electricity programme?

In the Ninth Plan, the nuclear power programme has been supported very well. Work on the Tarapur Atomic Power Station 3 and 4 has started. We hope to complete the construction of four reactors in early 1999 - two at Kaiga and two at Rajasthan (3 and 4), each of 220 MW capacity. The Tarapur Atomic Power Station 3 and 4 will be of 500 MW capacity each.

When will the "hot" commissioning of the Kalpakkam Reprocessing Plant (KARP) take place?

It will be done next month. All clearances have been obtained from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).