The
nuclear fission phenomenon continues to be an enigma, even after nearly
75 years of its discovery. Considerable progress has been made towards
understanding the fission process. Both light projectiles and heavy ions
have been employed to investigate nuclear fission. An extensive
database of the properties of fissionable nuclei has been generated. The
theoretical developments to describe the fission phenomenon have kept
pace with the progress in the corresponding experimental measurements.
As the fission process initiated by the neutrons has been well
documented, the present article will be restricted to charged
particle-induced fission reactions. The progress made in recent years
and the prospects in the area of nuclear fission research will be the
focus of this review.