'India's Pokhran II was not fully successful'

New Delhi, Aug 27: DRDO's senior scientist K Santhanam on Wednesday, Aug 26 said that India's Pokharan II, the nuclear test carried out in 1998, was not fully successful.

Santhanam said, "Based upon the seismic measurements and expert opinion from world over, it is clear that the yield in the thermonuclear device test was much lower than what was claimed. I think it is well documented and that is why I assert that India should not rush into signing the CTBT."

Sources said that the government is under pressure from the international non proliferation lobby, including the US, to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

India conducted a series of nuclear tests at the Pokhran underground testing site on May 11 and May 13, 1998.

According to the website of Federation of American Scientists, there was a controversy about the claims made by the government.

The website states, "Based on seismic data, US government sources and independent experts estimated the yield of the so-called thermonuclear test in the range of 12-25 kilotons, as opposed to the 43-60 kiloton yield claimed by India. This lower yield raised skepticism about India's claims to have detonated a thermonuclear device."

OneIndia News