Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, born on October 15, 1931, in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, overcame a challenging upbringing to become a prominent aerospace engineer and the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He is celebrated for his contributions to India's missile development and space program, emphasizing the need for technological advancements and scientific temper in society. Known as the 'Missile Man of India,' he received numerous honors including the Bharat Ratna, and authored several influential books advocating for India's development.

1. The Missile Man
Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam
Prepared By: Falgun Pujara

2. 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

3. 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 .

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. Political Views

7.  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 ideology-
free 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.

8.  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.

9. Major Contributions
 He helped in the development of India’s first Satellite Launch Vehicle SLV-
3,in1980 which helped India to become the member of Space Club by
injecting Rohini, in Earth’s 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 re-entry technology.
 He played a pivotal organizational, technical and political role in India’s
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.

10. 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

11.  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).

12. 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.

13. 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

14. 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.

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

16. 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

17. Isn't this interesting?

18.  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'.

19. 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.

20. 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

21. His Personality Traits
• Inherited Honesty,self • Committed and
discipline,and Faith in
Goodness from his parents dedicated for work
• Hard Working • Positive thinker
• Determined
• Possess Perseverance
• Passionate for the work
• Artistic
• Highly spiritual
• Loving and caring

22. THANK YOU
Presented by
Falgun Pujara