The Missile Man

Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam
Prepared By: Falgun Pujara

About the Legend

Full name :Dr Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul
Kalam
Visit on the Planet:15th Oct 1931,at
Dhanushkodi in Rameswaram District,Tamil
Nadu
Father:Jainulabdeen Marakayar,a boat owner
Mother:Ashiamma
Has three siblings

Personal life

Abdul kalam personal life was full of struggles and hard

work. Kalam's father was a devout Muslim, who owned
boats which he rented out to local fishermen and was a
good friend of Hindu religious leaders and the school
teachers at Rameshwaram. APJ Abdul Kalam mentions in his
biography that to support his studies, he started his career
as a newspaper vendor.On Wednesday April 29, 2009,
Abdul kalam became the first Asian to be bestowed the
Hoover Medal, America's top engineering prize, for his
outstanding contribution to public service.Abdul Kalam is
the Third President of India to have been honoured with a
Bharat Ratna before being elected to the highest office, the
others being Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan and Zakir Hussain .

Education
Primary education was from Rameshwaram elementary
school.
Later he settled in schwartz, Ramanathapuram
where he was highly inspired by his teacher IYADURAI
SOLOMON,who told to master three forces desire,belief and
expectation.
In 1950 he joined St Joseph college at Tiruchirapalli to do
B.Sc
He joined DMIT in Aeronautical Engineering at
MIT,Madas(1954-1957)
In 1958,after passing as a graduate,aeronautical
engineer,he joined
Hindustan Aeronautical Limited(HAL),Bangalore as a
trainee.

As an aerospace engineer
After graduating in Physics from St. Joseph's College in
Tiruchirapalli, Abdul Kalam graduated with a diploma in the
mid-1950s from Madras Institute of Technology specializing
in Aeronautical Engineering .As the Project Director, he was
heavily involved in the development of India's first
indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III). As Chief
Executive of
Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme
(IGMDP), he also played a major part in developing many
missiles of India including Agni and Prithvi. Although the
entire project has been criticised for being overrun and
mismanaged[11]. He was the Chief Scientific Adviser to
Prime Minister and Secretary,
Department of Defence Research & Development from July
1992 to December 1999. Pokhran-II nuclear tests were
conducted during this period, and have been associated
with Kalam although he was not directly involved with the
nuclear programme at the time.

Political Views

 Kalam's belief in the power of technology to

resolve society's problems and his views of these
problems as a result of inefficient distribution of
resources is modernistic.
He also sees science and technology as ideologyfree areas and emphasizes the cultivation of
scientific temper and entrepreneurial drive.
In this, he finds a lot of support among India's new
business leaders like the founders of Infosys and
Wipro, who began their careers as technology
professionals much in the same way Kalam did.

 His book "India 2020" strongly advocates an

action plan to develop India into a knowledge
superpower and into a developed nation by
the year 2020.
Kalam is credited with the view that India
ought to take a more assertive stance in
international relations.
he regards his work on India's nuclear
weapons program as a way to assert India's
place as a future superpower.

Major Contributions
He helped in the development of Indias first Satellite Launch
Vehicle SLV-3,in1980 which helped India to become the
member of Space Club by injecting Rohini, in Earths nearest
orbit.
In 1982, as Director of DRDO, Kalam was entrusted with the
Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme(IGMDP),
India's most successful military research task to date. The
programme constituted of 5 major projects for meeting the
requirements of the defence services and for establishing reentry technology.
He played a pivotal organizational, technical and political
role in Indias Pokhran-II Nuclear test in 1998.
He served as a principal scientific adviser to the Defense
Minister and later Govt of India (1999-2001) and was
responsible for evolving policies, strategies and missions for
many development applications.

Cont
The 5 projects were scheduled to be completed in
a time frame of only 10 years and consisted of:
(1) Nag - an anti-tank guided missile
(2) Prithvi - a surface-to-surface battlefield missile
(3) Akash - a swift, medium-range surface-to-air
missile
(4) Trishul - a quick-reaction surface-to-air missile
with a
shorter range
(5) Agni - an intermediate range ballistic missile,
the mightiest

 As Chairman, Technology Information,

Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC),
he generated the Technology Vision 2020
documents.
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.
Dr. Kalam was also the Chairman, Ex-officio,
of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the
Cabinet (SAC-C).

Achievements
Achievements - Apart from being a notable
scientist and engineer, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam served
as the 11th President of India from the period
2002 to 2007. He is a man of vision, who is
always full of ideas aimed at the development of
the country and is also often also referred to as
the Missile Man of India. People loved and
respected Dr APJ Abdul Kalam so much during his
tenure as President that was popularly called the
People's President.
He is the first scientist and a bachelor to chair the
position of a president holding the largest
Democracy.

Contd
He received honorary doctorates from about 30
universities globally. In the year 1981, the
Government of India presented him the nation's
highest civilian honor, the Padma Bhushan and
then again, the Padma Vibhushan in 1990 and the
Bharat Ratna in 1997. Before Kalam, there have
been only two presidents - Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan and Zakir Hussain - to have
received the Bharat Ratna before being appointed
to the highest office in India.

He is a man of vision, who is always full of ideas

aimed at the development of the country and is
also often also referred to as the Missile Man of
India

Contd
Dr APJ Abdul Kalam regards his work on
India's nuclear weapons program as a way to
assert India's place as a future superpower.
Even during his tenure as President, APJ
Kalam took avid interest in the spheres of
India's science and technology. He has even
put forward a project plan for establishing
bio-implants. He is also an ardent advocate
of open source software over proprietary
solutions to churn out more profits in the
field of technology.

Cont
On 29 April 2009,he became the first
Asian to be bestowed upon Americas
top Engineering award ,Hoovers
medal.
He received Dr.Biren Roy Space Award
Om Prakash Basin Award for Science
and Technology
National Nehru Award
Arya Bhatt Award etc

Books

Wings of Fire: An Autobiography of APJ Abdul Kalam .

Scientist to President by Abdul A.P.J. Kalam;
Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power Within India by A.P.J.
Abdul Kalam;
India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium by A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam
India-my-dream by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Envisioning an Empowered Nation: Technology for Societal
Transformation by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam;
Guiding Souls: Dialogues on the Purpose of Life
Children Ask Kalam by A.P.J Abdul Kalam;
Indomitable Spirit by A.P.J Abdul Kalam

Isn't this interesting?

 Kalam begins his day by reading from the Bhagwad Gita.

Kalam is leading a remarkable ascetic life.
He works for about 18 hours each day.
He plays the 'Rudra Veena'.
Took leave just twice, when his parents died.
He is a self-confessed 'Ram Bhakt'.

Current Status
He always remain linked with the academics,say
before becoming a president he worked with
Annamalai University till 2002.
He is the Chancellor of Indian Institute of Space
Science and Technology(Tiruvanthapuram)
A Professor at Anna University,(Chennai)
Visiting faculty at many academic and Research
institutions across India.
He is the member of Indian Academy of
Sciences ,Astronautical Society of India and many
other professional bodies.

Learnings from the story

Must try to follow the ASK principle
Must have a passion to do the work that
you are in.
Be a visionary
Must have certain rational principles in life
which one should always abide by.
Be down to earth.
Learn to master DESIRE,EXPECT and
BELIEF

His Personality Traits

Inherited Honesty,self
discipline,and Faith in
Goodness from his
parents
Hard Working
Determined
Possess Perseverance
Passionate for the
work
Artistic
Highly spiritual
Loving and caring

Committed and
dedicated for work
Positive thinker

THANK YOU
Presented by
Falgun Pujara