Born on
15th October 1931 at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu,
Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, specialized in Aeronautical Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology.
Dr.
Kalam made significant contribution as Project Director to develop
India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which
successfully injected the Rohini satellite in the near earth orbit in
July 1980 and made India an exclusive member of Space Club. He was
responsible for the evolution of ISRO's launch vehicle programme,
particularly the PSLV configuration. After working for two decades in
ISRO and mastering launch vehicle technologies,
Dr.
Kalam took up the responsibility of developing Indigenous Guided
Missiles at Defence Research and Development Organisation as the Chief
Executive of Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).
He was responsible for the development and operationalisation of AGNI
and PRITHVI Missiles and for building indigenous capability in critical
technologies through networking of multiple institutions. He was the
Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and Secretary, Department of
Defence Research & Development from July 1992 to December 1999.
During this period he led to the weaponisation of strategic missile
systems and the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in collaboration with
Department of Atomic Energy, which made India a nuclear weapon State.
He also gave thrust to self-reliance in defence systems by progressing
multiple development tasks and mission projects such as Light Combat
Aircraft.
As Chairman of Technology Information, Forecasting and
Assessment Council (TIFAC) and as an eminent scientist, he led the
country with the help of 500 experts to arrive at Technology Vision
2020 giving a road map for transforming India from the present
developing status to a developed nation.
Dr.
Kalam has served as the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government
of India, in the rank of Cabinet Minister, from November 1999 to
November 2001 and was responsible for evolving policies, strategies and
missions for many development applications.
Dr.
Kalam was also the Chairman, Ex-officio, of the Scientific Advisory
Committee to the Cabinet (SAC-C) and piloted India Millennium Mission
2020.
Dr. Kalam took up academic
pursuit as Professor, Technology & Societal Transformation at Anna
University, Chennai from November 2001 and was involved in teaching and
research tasks. Above all he took up a mission to ignite the young
minds for national development by meeting high school students across
the country.
In his literary pursuit four of
Dr.
Kalam's books - "Wings of Fire", "India 2020 - A Vision for the New
Millennium", "My journey" and "Ignited Minds - Unleashing the power
within India" have become household names in India and among the Indian
nationals abroad. These books have been translated in many Indian
languages.
Dr. Kalam is one of the
most distinguished scientists of India with the unique honour of
receiving honorary doctorates from 30 universities and institutions. He
has been awarded the coveted civilian awards - Padma Bhushan (1981) and
Padma Vibhushan (1990) and the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna
(1997). He is a recipient of several other awards and Fellow of many
professional institutions.
Dr. Kalam became the
11th President of India on
25th July 2002. His focus is on transforming India into a developed nation by 2020.
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