Rao energised the national nuclear security and ballistic missiles program , which ultimately resulted in the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests . It is speculated that the tests were actually planned in 1995 , during Rao 's term in office , and that they were dropped under American pressure when the US intelligence got the whiff of it . Another view was that he purposefully leaked the information to gain time to develop and test thermonuclear device which was not yet ready . He increased military spending , and set the Indian Army on course to fight the emerging threat of terrorism and insurgencies , as well as Pakistan and China 's nuclear potentials . It was during his term that terrorism in the Indian state of Punjab was finally defeated . Also scenarios of aircraft hijackings , which occurred during Rao 's time ended without the government conceding the terrorists ' demands . He also directed negotiations to secure the release of Doraiswamy , an Indian Oil executive , from Kashmiri terrorists who kidnapped him , and Liviu Radu , a Romanian diplomat posted in New Delhi in October 1991 , who was kidnapped by Sikh terrorists . Rao also handled the Indian response to the occupation of the Hazratbal holy shrine in Jammu and Kashmir by terrorists in October 1993 . He brought the occupation to an end without damage to the shrine . Similarly , he dealt with the kidnapping of some foreign tourists by a terrorist group called '' Al Faran '' in Kashmir in 1995 effectively . Although he could not secure the release of the hostages , his policies ensured that the terrorists demands were not conceded to , and that the action of the terrorists was condemned internationally , including Pakistan
1998 Pokhran nuclear tests
Pokhran-II
P. V. Narasimha Rao