<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Test chronology </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Pokhran - II → </Td> </Tr> <P> Smiling Buddha (MEA designation: Pokhran - I) was the assigned code name of India's first successful nuclear bomb test on 18 May 1974 . The bomb was detonated on the army base, Pokhran Test Range (PTR), in Rajasthan by the Indian Army under the supervision of several key Indian generals . </P> <P> Pokhran - I was also the first confirmed nuclear weapons test by a nation outside the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council . Officially, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) claimed this test was a "peaceful nuclear explosion", but it was an accelerated nuclear programme . </P>

When did india test its first nuclear bomb