SSC
Who is known as the 'Father of the Indian nuclear programme'?
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Answer: Option A — Homi J. Bhabha
Detailed Solution
Bhabha. Homi Jehangir Bhabha (1909-1966) is known as the "Father of the Indian nuclear programme".
About Homi J. Bhabha:
- He was born on 30 October 1909 in Bombay into a wealthy Parsi family.
- He studied engineering and then physics at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.
- He made important contributions to theoretical physics, including research on cosmic rays and on the scattering of positrons by electrons, which is known as "Bhabha scattering".
He returned to India in 1939 and worked at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, under C. V. Raman.
In 1945, with the support of J. R. D. Tata and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, he founded the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Bombay.
In 1948, he became the first Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India.
In 1954, he founded the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET), which was renamed the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in 1967 after his death.
He became the first Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy (1954).
He planned India's "three-stage nuclear power programme", designed to use India's large reserves of thorium:
Stage 1: Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors using natural uranium.
Stage 2: Fast Breeder Reactors using plutonium.
Stage 3: Thorium-based reactors.
Asia's first nuclear research reactor, "Apsara", went critical at Trombay on 4 August 1956.
He presided over the first UN International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy at Geneva in 1955.
He received the Padma Bhushan in 1954.
He died on 24 January 1966 in the crash of Air India Flight 101 on Mont Blanc in the Alps.
Other key figures in Indian science:
- Vikram Sarabhai: "Father of the Indian space programme"; succeeded Bhabha as Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.
- P. J. Abdul Kalam: "Missile Man of India".
- Raja Ramanna: led the team for India's first nuclear test, "Smiling Buddha", at Pokhran in 1974.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Vikram Sarabhai is called the "Father of the Indian space programme".
- ✗P. J. Abdul Kalam is called the "Missile Man of India".
- ✗Raja Ramanna led the 1974 Pokhran test.
Quick tip
Remember: Homi Bhabha = "Father of the Indian nuclear programme" (TIFR 1945; AEC 1948; BARC; three-stage programme; Apsara 1956); Vikram Sarabhai = space programme; Raja Ramanna = Pokhran 1974.
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This topic covers famous personalities from India and the world: leaders, reformers, scientists, entrepreneurs and their nicknames, along with the founders of organisations, companies, institutions, religions and movements. Questions often use popular titles such as 'Iron Man of India' (Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel) or 'Nightingale of India' (Sarojini Naidu), or ask who founded an organisation, such as the Ramakrishna Mission (Swami Vivekananda). Grouping people by field and by title makes revision faster and helps you spot wrong options. Practise the famous personalities questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.