President Murmu pays tribute to A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on his birth anniversary

• President Droupadi Murmu paid floral tributes to former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on his birth anniversary at Rashtrapati Bhavan on October 15.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Kalam is remembered as a visionary who ignited young minds and inspired the nation to dream big.

Key points on Abdul Kalam:

• Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born on October 15, 1931 at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. 

• He specialised in aeronautical engineering from Madras Institute of Technology. 

• 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 near earth orbit in July 1980. 

• 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, Kalam took up the responsibility of developing Indigenous Guided Missiles at Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) 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 the 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 the 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 developing status to a developed nation. 

• Kalam has served as the Principal Scientific Adviser 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. 

• He was also the chairman, ex-officio, of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet (SAC-C) and piloted India Millennium Mission 2020.

• Above all he took up a mission to ignite the young minds for national development by meeting high school students across the country.

His books include:

i) Wings of Fire

ii) India 2020 - A Vision for the New Millennium

iii) My journey

iv) Ignited Minds - Unleashing the power within India. 

• These books have been translated in many Indian languages.

• Kalam received honorary doctorates from 30 universities and institutions. 

• He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1981, Padma Vibhushan in 1990 and the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna in 1997. 

• He is a recipient of several other awards and Fellow of many professional institutions.

• Kalam was sworn in as 11th President of India on July 25, 2002. He served a full five-year term until July 25, 2007.

• He passed away at the age of 83 on July 27, 2015.