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    A.P.J. Abdul Kalam - Britannica Online Encyclopedia

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    A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was an Indian scientist and politician who played a leading role in developing India's missile and nuclear weapons programs. He earned an engineering degree and worked for the Defense Research and Development Organisation and Indian Space Research Organisation, helping develop missiles and satellites. Kalam later served as scientific adviser to the defense minister and principal scientific adviser to the government. He was president of India from 2002 to 2007 and remained committed to using science and technology to transform India. Kalam died in 2015 while delivering a lecture at age 83.

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    A.P.J. Abdul Kalam - Britannica Online Encyclopedia

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    A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was an Indian scientist and politician who played a leading role in developing India's missile and nuclear weapons programs. He earned an engineering degree and worked for the Defense Research and Development Organisation and Indian Space Research Organisation, helping develop missiles and satellites. Kalam later served as scientific adviser to the defense minister and principal scientific adviser to the government. He was president of India from 2002 to 2007 and remained committed to using science and technology to transform India. Kalam died in 2015 while delivering a lecture at age 83.

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    A.P.J. Abdul Kalam -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia

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    A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was an Indian scientist and politician who played a leading role in developing India's missile and nuclear weapons programs. He earned an engineering degree and worked for the Defense Research and Development Organisation and Indian Space Research Organisation, helping develop missiles and satellites. Kalam later served as scientific adviser to the defense minister and principal scientific adviser to the government. He was president of India from 2002 to 2007 and remained committed to using science and technology to transform India. Kalam died in 2015 while delivering a lecture at age 83.

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    A.P.J. Abdul Kalam - Britannica Online Encyclopedia

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    balijishyambabu
    A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was an Indian scientist and politician who played a leading role in developing India's missile and nuclear weapons programs. He earned an engineering degree and worked for the Defense Research and Development Organisation and Indian Space Research Organisation, helping develop missiles and satellites. Kalam later served as scientific adviser to the defense minister and principal scientific adviser to the government. He was president of India from 2002 to 2007 and remained committed to using science and technology to transform India. Kalam died in 2015 while delivering a lecture at age 83.

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    6/29/2021 A.P.J.

    Abdul Kalam -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia

    A.P.J. Abdul Kalam


    A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, in full Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, (born October 15,
    1931, Rameswaram, India—died July 27, 2015, Shillong), Indian scientist and politician who
    played a leading role in the development of India’s missile and nuclear weapons programs. He
    was president of India from 2002 to 2007.

    Kalam earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from


    the Madras Institute of Technology and in 1958 joined
    the Defence Research and Development Organisation
    (DRDO). In 1969 he moved to the Indian Space
    Research Organisation, where he was project director of
    zoom_in
    A.P.J. Abdul Kalam the SLV-III, the first satellite launch vehicle that was
    A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, 2008.
    both designed and produced in India. Rejoining DRDO
    Aneesh 90
    in 1982, Kalam planned the program that produced a
    number of successful missiles, which helped earn him the nickname “Missile Man.” Among
    those successes was Agni, India’s first intermediate-range ballistic missile, which incorporated
    aspects of the SLV-III and was launched in 1989.

    From 1992 to 1997 Kalam was scientific adviser to the defense minister, and he later served as
    principal scientific adviser (1999–2001) to the government with the rank of cabinet minister.
    His prominent role in the country’s 1998 nuclear weapons tests solidified India as a nuclear
    power and established Kalam as a national hero, although the tests caused great concern in the
    international community. In 1998 Kalam put forward a countrywide plan called Technology
    Vision 2020, which he described as a road map for transforming India from a less-developed
    to a developed society in 20 years. The plan called for, among other measures, increasing
    agricultural productivity, emphasizing technology as a vehicle for economic growth, and
    widening access to health care and education.

    In 2002 India’s ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) put forward Kalam to succeed
    outgoing President Kocheril Raman Narayanan. Kalam was nominated by the Hindu

    https://www.britannica.com/print/article/861164 1/2
    6/29/2021 A.P.J. Abdul Kalam -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia

    nationalist (Hindutva) NDA even though he was Muslim, and his stature and popular appeal
    were such that even the main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, also proposed his
    candidacy. Kalam easily won the election and was sworn in as India’s 11th president, a largely
    ceremonial post, in July 2002. He left office at the end of his term in 2007 and was succeeded
    by Pratibha Patil, the country’s first woman president.

    Upon returning to civilian life, Kalam remained committed to using science and technology to
    transform India into a developed country and served as a lecturer at several universities. On
    July 27, 2015, he collapsed while delivering a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management
    Shillong and was pronounced dead from cardiac arrest soon afterward.

    Kalam wrote several books, including an autobiography, Wings of Fire (1999). Among his
    numerous awards were two of the country’s highest honours, the Padma Vibhushan (1990) and
    the Bharat Ratna (1997).

    The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn,
    Managing Editor, Reference Content.

    Citation Information
    Article Title:
    A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
    Website Name:
    Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Publisher:
    Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
    Date Published:
    12 February 2021
    URL:
    https://www.britannica.com/biography/A-P-J-Abdul-Kalam
    Access Date:
    June 29, 2021

    https://www.britannica.com/print/article/861164 2/2

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