................. is the name given to India's nuclear program, in which India exploded a 15-kiloton plutonium device in Pokhran and became a member of the nuclear club.

Correct option is C

The correct answer is (c) Operation Smiling Buddha
Explanation:
• Operation Smiling Buddha (MEA designation: Pokhran-I) was the assigned code name of India's first successful nuclear bomb test.
• It took place on May 18, 1974, at the Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan.
• The device was a fission weapon with a yield of approximately 12-15 kilotons.
• With this test, India became the sixth country in the world to successfully test a nuclear weapon, and the first confirmed nation outside the Permanent Five members of the UN Security Council to do so.
Information Booster:
• Leadership: The test was conducted under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
• Key Scientists: The team included Raja Ramanna, Homi Sethna, and P.K. Iyengar.
• Significance: It was described by the Indian government as a "peaceful nuclear explosion."
• Pokhran-II: India's second series of nuclear tests in 1998 was code-named Operation Shakti.
Additional Knowledge:
(a) Operation Sunflower (Option a)
• Not a standard code name for an Indian military operation; often associated with fictional or minor historical contexts.
(b) Operation Rising Tiger (Option b)
• Not a recognized code name for India's nuclear program.
(c) Mukti Bahini (Option d)
• This was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary, and civilians during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, supported by India.