After the end of Rao 's tenure in May 1996 , the nation saw four prime ministers in a span of three years , '' '' , two tenures of Atal Bihari Vajpayee ; one tenure of H. D. Deve Gowda from 1 June 1996 to 21 April 1997 ; and one tenure of I. K. Gujral from 21 April 1997 to 19 March 1998 . The government of Prime Minister Vajpayee — elected in 1998 — took some concrete steps . In May 1998 — after a month in power — the government announced the conduct of five underground nuclear explosions in Pokhran . In response to these tests , many western countries , including the United States , imposed economic sanctions on India , but , due to the support received from Russia , France , the Gulf countries and some other nations , the sanctions — were largely — not considered successful . A few months later in response to the Indian nuclear tests , Pakistan also conducted nuclear tests . Given the deteriorating situation between the two countries , the governments tried to improve bilateral relations . In February 1999 , the India and Pakistan signed the Lahore Declaration , in which the two countries announced their intention to annul mutual enmity , increase trade and use their nuclear capabilities for peaceful purposes . In May 1999 , All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam withdrew from the ruling National Democratic Alliance ( NDA ) coalition ; Vajpayee 's government , hence , became a caretaker one after losing a motion-of-no-confidence 269 – 270 , this coincided with the Kargil War with Pakistan . In the subsequent October 1999 general election , the BJP-led NDA and its affiliated parties secured a comfortable majority in the Lok Sabha , winning 299 of 543 seats in the lower house
conducted nuclear tests
Chagai-I
Prime Minister of India