Bhubaneswar, May 10: On the eve of the tenth anniversary of Pokhran-II, former President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam on Saturday said the test had given strength to the nation.

Kalam, who was on a two-day visit to Orissa, told Agencies

this morning that it was a "very important decision" on the part of the Indian government to go for test explosion of nuclear devices on May 11, 1998.

Kalam played a crucial role as chief of the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and scientific advisior to the then Prime Minister, A B Vajpayee in the successful test explosion of five nuclear devices on May 11 and May 13, 1998.

Though a number of countries imposed sanctions against India in the aftermath of the Pokhran-II tests, according to Kalam, it had certainly added to the capability of the nation.