Nuclear scientist Homi N Sethna passes away

Former Atomic Energy Commission chairman and the guiding force behind India's first nuclear test, Homi Nusserwanji Sethna, died at his Malabar Hills residence in Mumbai after a prolonged illness, family members said.

He was 86 and is survived by a daughter and son. Sethna passed away on Sunday night at around 11.15 pm.

His funeral will take place on Tuesday at Doongerwadi Tower of Silence.

Sethna, a nuclear scientist and chemical engineer, was responsible for setting up of India's first plutonium plant at Trombay in 1959. He was also the director of Indian Rare Earth in Kerala before moving to Mumbai.

He retired as AEC chairman in 1984 and served as chairman of Tata Power from 1989-2000. He also was a director in the Board of Tata Sons, Bombay Dyeing and few more companies.

An energetic engineer and a quick decision maker, Sethna, the then AEC chairman, was the guiding force behind the first peaceful nuclear explosion project 'Smiling Buddha' at Pokhran on May 18, 1974.

He was a recipient of the country's second highest civilian award -- Padma Vibhushan. The uranium mill at Jaduguda in Bihar was also set up under his guidance in 1967.

He was also the Project Manager of 40 MW Canada-India Reactor in 1956-58.

"Sethna was a good and energetic engineer, always willing to take risks and built India's first re-processing plant in Trombay. He had a dare devil attitude and never waited for bureaucratic processes to get the establishment work done," P K Iyengar, former AEC chairman, said.