Renowned DRDO missile scientist Ram Narain Agarwal, widely known as the "father of Agni Missiles," passed away on Thursday in Hyderabad due to age-related ailments. 83-year-old Agarwal, a Padma Bhushan awardee, was a pioneering figure in India's defense research and has significantly contributed to the development of India's long-range ballistic missile program.
Agarwal is survived by his wife and two children.
Dr Agarwal led the country's ambitious Agni missile programme for over two decades right from its beginning in 1983 as Project Director. He inspired the team to successfully test the Technology demonstrator missile in May 1989.
Thereafter, various versions of the missile were developed and inducted into the defence forces. Today, Agni V, the nuclear-capable, intermediate-range ballistic missile has the capability to strike targets beyond 5000 kms.
Dr Agarwal retired as the founder and director of the Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Hyderabad in 2005.
He was a distinguished Scientist of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and worked on the Agni and other missile programmes alongside Dr Arunachalam and Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, Dr Agarwal played a key role in establishing the re-entry technology, all composite heat shield, onboard propulsion system, guidance and control etc for missiles during a distinguished tenure of 22 years.
In 1995 he was appointed Programme Director of Agni for weaponisation and deployment of Agni 2. Within 4 years in 1999, Dr Agarwal and team established the new version with road-mobile launch capability too with enhanced strike distance from Agni-1.
In subsequent years, the demonstration of the powerful Agni-3 missile weapon system has put India into a select club of countries with nuclear-capable missile power of long-range with strengths in indigenously developing all systems.
The Agni missile was the most ambitious of the 5 missiles sought to be developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme launched in 1983 by the Government of India. The others were --Prithvi, Akash, Nag and Trishul.
Dr Agarwal won many laurels for his contributions. Among these are the Lifetime Achievement Award 2004 for contributions to the field of aerospace and Agni by the Prime Minister; the DRDO Technology Leadership Award, Chandrasekhara Saraswati National Eminence Award along with PM, PV Narasimha Rao and Bharat Ratna M S Subbalaxmi and the Biren Roy Space Sciences Award.
He was conferred the Padma Sri in 1990 and Padma Bhushan in 2000 by the President of India.
Born in Jaipur into a traders family on July 24, 1941, Dr Agarwal did his Aeronautical Engineering from MIT, Guindy and Masters from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He obtained a doctorate from the University of Rajasthan.
He was a member of various national academies and delivered lectures on self-reliance and missile technology at various forums. He was a fellow of the Aeronautical Society of India and the National Academy of Engineering.
(With inputs from ANI)