R N Agarwal, 'Father of Agni missile', passes away

Hyderabad: R N Agarwal, regarded as the father of Agni missiles in the country, passed away here.

He was 84.

Agarwal, a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, died on Thursday following mild old-age related ailments, DRDO sources said.

He had served as the Agni programme director and also as the director of ASL (Advanced Systems Laboratory) in Hyderabad.

Former President A P J Abdul Kalam and 'Missile Man' of India had started IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme) and Agni was a key programme in it, the sources said.

Agarwal was instrumental in initiating the Agni series of missiles, they said.