Former Atomic Energy Commission chairman and the guiding force behind India's [ Images ] first nuclear test, Homi Nusserwanji Sethna, died at his Malabar Hills residence in Mumbai [ Images ] after a prolonged illness, family members said.

He was 86 and is survived by a daughter and son. Sethna passed away on Sunday night at around 11.15 pm.

His funeral will take place on Tuesday at Doongerwadi Tower of Silence.

Sethna, a nuclear scientist and chemical engineer, was responsible for setting up of India's first plutonium plant at Trombay in 1959. He was also the director of Indian Rare Earth in Kerala [ Images ] before moving to Mumbai.

He retired as AEC chairman in 1984 and served as chairman of Tata Power [ Get Quote ] from 1989-2000. He also was a director in the Board of Tata Sons, Bombay Dyeing [ Get Quote ] and few more companies.

An energetic engineer and a quick decision maker, Sethna, the then AEC chairman, was the guiding force behind the first peaceful nuclear explosion project 'Smiling Buddha' at Pokhran on May 18, 1974.

He was a recipient of the country's second highest civilian award -- Padma Vibhushan. The uranium mill at Jaduguda in Bihar was also set up under his guidance in 1967.

He was also the Project Manager of 40 MW Canada-India Reactor in 1956-58.

"Sethna was a good and energetic engineer, always willing to take risks and built India's first re-processing plant in Trombay. He had a dare devil attitude and never waited for bureaucratic processes to get the establishment work done," P K Iyengar, former AEC chairman, said.