• The Indian Atomic Energy Commission was first setup in August 1948 in the Department of Scientific Research, which was created a few months earlier in June 1948. The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was setup on August 3, 1954 under the direct charge of the Prime Minister through a Presidential Order. Subsequently, in accordance with a Government Resolution dated March 1, 1958, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was established in the Department of Atomic Energy. 

Vision:

• The vision of the Department of Atomic Energy is to empower India through technology, creation of more wealth and providing better quality of life to its citizen. This is to be achieved by making India energy independent, contributing to provision of sufficient, safe and nutritious food and better health care to our people through development and deployment of nuclear and radiation technologies and their applications.

Functions:

• To organise research in atomic scientists in the country.
• To train, atomic scientists in the country.
• To promote nuclear research in commission’s own laboratories as well as in India.
• To undertake prospecting of atomic minerals in India and to extract such minerals for use on industrial scale.