19 January 1970
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi dedicates the 380MWe Tarapur Atomic Power Station to the country. The Tarapur plant is India's first nuclear power station.
--Department of Atomic Energy of India, Government of India. "Annual Report:1969-1970," pp. iii.

6 March 1970
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) becomes effective as a result of ratification by the United States, Soviet Union, Great Britain, and 44 other nations.
--The New York Times, Informational Bank Abstracts, 6 March 1970, in Lexis-Nexus Academic Universe, 6 March 1970, http://web.lexis-nexus.com.

31 March 1970
India's Consultative Committee on Foreign Affairs and Atomic Energy persuades the government to study, or restudy the costs of developing nuclear weapons.
--George Perkovich, India's Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999), p. 150.

April 1970
India's Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman Vikram Sarabhai appoints N. Seshagiri of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of a nuclear weapons program.
--George Perkovich, India's Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999), p. 150.

April 1970
China launches a long-range rocket carrying a satellite into orbit. This feat "alarms Indian officials and intensifies the national debate on nuclear policy."
--George Perkovich, India's Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999), pp. 151.

9-10 May 1970
The Indian Parliamentary and Scientific Committee organizes a meeting of "eminent scientists, academics and politicians in New Delhi," and strongly urges the government to "revise its policy and produce nuclear weapons immediately."
--George Perkovich, India's Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999), pp.151-152.

14 May 1970
During a visit to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), N. Vellodi, secretary of the Atomic Energy Commission, questions analysts about "the utility of tactical nuclear weapons." Vellodi tells SIPRI officials that India "was conducting an internal review of the option to produce nuclear warheads," and was considering tactical nuclear weapons as a viable option. SIPRI officials express skepticism about the use of such weapons.
--George Perkovich, India's Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999), p. 150.

17 May 1970
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman Vikram Sarabhai declares that "India would not seek nuclear weapons but that it would retain the option for conducting underground nuclear explosions for peaceful purposes."
--George Perkovich, India's Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999), p. 152.

25 May 1970
Sarabhai announces the "Sarabhai Profile, a 10-year plan for the development of atomic energy and space research in India."
--George Perkovich, India's Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999), p. 152.

June 1970
The Apsara research reactor (1MW) goes into operation at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC).
--Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India. "Annual Report: 1970-1971," p. 92.

July 1970
Vikram Sarabhai asserts that "India is capable of conducting underground nuclear explosives and is internationally entitled to do so as a nonparty to the NPT."
--George Perkovich, India's Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999), p. 155.

August 1970
The Indian Institute of Public Opinion conducts a poll that confirms the argument that the Indian public is increasingly supportive the government's push for acquiring nuclear weapons. "Over 69 percent of all those polled in the four metropolitan areas (New Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta and Madras) are pro-Bomb; more than 53 percent said they were for acquiring nuclear weapons, even if this resulted in tax increases."
--Bharat Karnad, Nuclear Weapons & Indian Security (New Delhi, India: Macmillan India Limited, 2002), p. 296.

August 1970
Canada begins work on the Kota Heavy Water Plant in Bombay.
--K.K. Pathak, Nuclear Policy of India-A Third World Perspective (New Delhi, India: Gitanjali Prakashan, 1980), p. 248.

28 August, 1970
Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi says that India is weighing the use of nuclear explosions for peaceful purposes but has no plans to develop weapons.
--The New York Times, Information Bank Abstracts, 28 August 1970, In Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, 28 August 1970, http://web.lexis-nexis.com

31 August, 1970
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi informs Parliament that the government is studying the economic and technical issues surrounding peaceful nuclear explosives.
--George Perkovich, India's Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999), p. 155.

September 1970
India's Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) appoints a Site Selection Committee to examine suitable sites in the "Northern, Western and Southern Electricity Regions for new atomic power stations."
--Department of Atomic Energy of India, Government of India. "Annual Report: 1970-1971." p. 28.

September 1970
The Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) in Trombay successfully separates uranium-233 from thorium.
--K.K. Pathak, Nuclear Policy of India- A Third World Perspective (New Delhi, India: Gitanjali Prakashan, 1980), p. 248.

16 November 1970
India's renewed debate and official statements showing interests in peaceful nuclear explosions alarms US government officials. As a result, the United States presents an "aide-memoire" to the Indian government declaring that Washington would regard an Indian nuclear explosion using plutonium derived from the CIRUS reactor, which is moderated by a U.S.-supplied heavy water, as a violation of the U.S.-India nuclear cooperation agreement. India rejects the U.S. interpretation and states that it has a right to pursue "any peaceful applications of nuclear energy, including peaceful nuclear explosives."
--George Perkovich, India's Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation (Berkeley & Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 1999) p. 159.

December 1970
Prime Minister Gandhi sanctions the Indian Navy's Project 937 to build a nuclear submarine, also called the Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV).
--Bharat Karnard, Nuclear Weapons & Indian Security (New Delhi, India: Macmillan India Limited, 2002), p. 303; Raj Chengappa, Weapons of Peace (New Delhi, India: Harper Collins Publishers India, 2000), pp. 129-130.

18 January-3 February 1971
A high-level Japanese delegation representing a cross section of Japan's nuclear industry visits various facilities of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in India and acquaints itself with the progress achieved by India in the field of atomic energy.
--Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, "Annual Report: 1970-1971," p. 123.

27 January 1971
India, the United States, and the International Atomic Energy Commission (IAEA) sign a trilateral agreement. The agreement signifies the transfer of "the responsibility for the implementation of safeguards in respect of the Tarapur Atomic Power Station," from the United States Atomic Energy Commission to the IAEA.
--Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India," Annual Report: 1970-1971," p. 123.

15-19 March 1971
An Indo-German seminar on fuel cycles is held in Trombay. The Seminar provides an opportunity "to establish personal contacts between scientists engaged in the fuel program in the department and their counterparts in the Federal Republic of Germany."
--Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India," Annual Report: 1970-1971," p. 123.

March 1971
The Director in-Charge of Science and Technology, League of Arab States, Salah El-Din Hedayat, visits India. He tours facilities of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and holds discussions on "matters of mutual interest to India and the Arab states in the field of peaceful uses of atomic energy."
--Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, "Annual Report: 1970-1971," p. 123.

April 1971
The Department of Atomic Energy's Heavy Water Board signs a supply contract with the French-Swiss consortium-GELPRA to construct the Tuticorin Heavy Water Plant in the state of Tamil Nadu.
--K.K. Pathak, Nuclear Policy of India-A Third World Perspective (New Delhi, India: Gitanjali Prakashan, 1980) p. 248; India Profile: Nuclear Facilities-Heavy Water Plants. (NTI website-India Nuclear Profile. www.nti.org).

May 1971
Construction begins on the Tuticorin Heavy Water Plant.
--K.K. Pathak, Nuclear Policy of India- A Third World Perspective (New Delhi, India: Gitanjali Prakashan, 1980) p. 248.

May 1971
The Zirconium Oxide Plant located at the Hyderabad Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) begins operations to produce nuclear-grade zirconium oxide.
--K.K. Pathak, Nuclear Policy of India- A Third World Perspective (New Delhi, India: Gitanjali Prakashan, 1980) p. 248; Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, "Annual Report: 1971-1972," p. 37.

May 1971
The Government of India sanctions the second unit at the Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS).
--K.K. Pathak, Nuclear Policy of India-A Third World Perspective (New Delhi, India: Gitanjali Prakashan, 1980) p. 248.

6 June 1971
During her visit to Mauritius, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi attempts to make a distinction between peaceful nuclear explosives and a full-fledged weapons program. She says, "We have discussed this question deeply and rejected the idea of making a bomb. Once we launch into making it, we would have to incur heavy expenses to keep abreast of nuclear weaponry and at the same time maintain conventional equipment."
--George Perkovich, India's Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999) p. 159.

June 1971
The production of zirconium sponge from the Zirconium Oxide Plant at the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) commences with an output of 70 kg/batch.
--Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, "Annual Report: 1971-1972," pp. 4-5, 37.

30 August 1971
The Government of India and the Socialist Republic of Rumania (Romania) sign an agreement, which calls for "cooperation in the utilization of atomic energy for peaceful purposes" in Bucharest.
--Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, "Annual Report: 1971-1972," p.150.

August 1971
The scheduled refueling of one of the Boiling Water Reactors (BWR) (2) at the Tarapur Atomic Power Station occurs. This is the first time that one of the two reactors has been shut down since the start of operations in 1969.
--Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, "Annual Report: 1971-1972," p. 21.

6-16 September 1971
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman Vikram Sarabhai leads an Indian delegation of 15 Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) scientists at the 4th UN International Conference on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in Geneva.
--Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, "Annual Report: 1971-1972," pp. 146, 150.

30 September 1971
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Government of Canada, and the Government of India sign an agreement in Vienna, which relates to "safeguards provisions in respect to the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station and the Douglas Point Nuclear Generating Station (in Canada)." This agreement symbolizes the transfer of "the responsibility for the implementation of safeguards in respect to the two atomic power stations" to the IAEA.
--Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, "Annual Report: 1971-1972," pp. 150-151.

September 1971
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman Vikram Sarabhai addresses an audience at the Fourth International Conference on the Public Uses of Atomic Energy in Geneva. Sarabhai tells the audience that Indian scientists are developing nuclear explosive engineering (i.e., peaceful nuclear explosives) as a top priority. A peaceful nuclear explosive rather than a full-fledged bomb program is much more likely for India.
--George Perkovich, India's Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999) p. 159.

September 1971
The main Zirconium Sponge Plant located at the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) in Hyderabad goes into operation and sponge is being produced in the plant at the rated capacity of about 200 kg/batch. The sponge is of high quality, meeting nuclear grade specification.
--K.K. Pathak, Nuclear Policy of India-A Third World Perspective (New Delhi, India: Gitanjali Prakashan, 1980) p.248; Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, "Annual Report: 1971-1972," p. 37.

1 October 1971
Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, prompted by Sarabhai's statement concerning peaceful nuclear explosives and goaded by an alarmed U.S. bureaucracy, writes to Indira Gandhi, to declare that "use of Canadian supplied material, equipment and facilities... for the development of a nuclear device would inevitably call on our part for a reassessment of our nuclear cooperation agreement with India."
--George Perkovich, India's Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999) p. 159.

5 October 1971
The Government of India and the Federal Republic of Germany sign an agreement that calls for "cooperation in the peaceful uses of atomic energy and space research" in New Delhi.
--Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India," Annual Report: 1971-1972," p. 150.

23 October-5 November 1971
V.N. Meckoni, head of the Reactor Engineering Division at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center BARC, leads a team of scientist and engineers on a visit to Japan in response to an invitation from the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuels Development Corporation of Japan.
--Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, "Annual Report: 1971-1972," p. 151.

October 1971
The Uranium Oxide Plant located at the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) begins to perform trial runs, starting with the uranium concentrates from the Uranium Corporation of India Ltd. at Jaduguda. The various sections of the plant have been successfully commissioned in stages.
--Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, "Annual Report: 1971-1972," pp. 5, 38.

October 1971
The bilateral agreement "on the peaceful uses of atomic energy," between the Indian Atomic Energy Commission and the National Atomic Energy Commission of the Hungarian People's Republic is further extended/renewed for a period of five years to October 1976.
--Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, "Annual Report: 1971-1972," p. 151.

15 December 1971
The main transformer of the Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Unit-1 develops an internal fault during the re-energizing process and damages the windings of the transformer. Indian experts and the American manufacturer (General Electric) jointly examine the transformer in great detail. The replacement parts needed for repairs are expected to arrive by May 1972.
--Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, "Annual Report: 1971-1972," p. 24.

31 December 1971
The total strength of the workforce at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Trombay reaches 9,624 staff members consisting of 2,134 scientific, 4,028 technical, 1,774 administrative, and 1,729 general maintenance and auxiliary staff.
--Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, "Annual Report: 1971-1972," p. 17.

	Updated May 2006