``Though there are no immediate plans to produce the neutron weapon in view of various binding factors, ``sometime, somebody should tell us (the scientific community) we need it (neutron weapon) and we will make it,'' he said.

Speaking at a function organised by the Rotary Club of Madras, where he was presented the ``For the sake of honour Award,'' Santhanam said described the neutron bomb as a capitalist's bomb and cautioned that the enhanced radiation of x-rays and gamma rays from the bomb would be deadly for human beings, although concrete structures will remain intact.

``India as an independent thinking country must know what kind of weapons it needed, in what quantity and for what purpose it was required,'' he said. However, the post-Pokhran stand of Prime Minister Vajpayee too should be considered. One should keep in mind the declared doctrine of `no first use' of nuclear weapon and the moratorium on nuclear tests announced by the Prime Minister, he said.

``Neither should we forget the era of cold war when several disasters were caused due to the indecent and obscene arms race between the USA and USSR,'' he added.

To another question on Pakistan's claim on the capacity of the nuclear tests conducted by it, Santhanam said, ``in all probability they had conducted one major test with a capacity of about 8 to 10 kilotons, which was based on China's trigger technology.''

Tracing the genesis of India's weaponisation programme, he said though India demonstrated its nuclear capability in 1974 it was compelled to continuously review its nuclear option in the light of Pakistan's clandestine nuclear weaponisation programme with Chinese assistance and its nuclear and missile modernisation programme. It was against this backdrop that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was instructed to ``discreetly weaponise'' in the late eighties, he said.

The weaponisation aimed at increasing reliability, productivity, maintainability and safety of a weapon, he added. The need for nuclear testing was governed by the arrival of new materials and concepts and significant improvements made in the nuclear core and implosion (inward directed explosion) assembly. ``The tests also enabled the transfer of knowledge and experience to the next generation scientists and engineers,'' Santhanam said.

``The natural and mutually reinforcing partnership between the DRDO and DAE dated back to the early 1970s,'' he said, adding, ``the complimentary technological capabilities of nuclear technology and defence technology resulted in a new weapon technology and system.''