India's Agni Power
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
pUBLICATION OF THE CONSULATE GENErAL OF INDIA IN DUBAI VOL.4 ISSUE 4 | AprIL 2012 INDIA’S AGNI POWER With a 5,000-km strike range, the recently-fired Agni-V significantly strengthens India’s deterrence C FROM THE CONSUL-GENERAL’S DESK Dear Reader, O The successful test-launch of India’s first Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile, Agni-V, has made all of us proud. The elite club of nations, with mis - N siles capable of travelling more than 5,000km, has a place for India now. COVER STORY The cover story ( Agni-enabled India ), while exploring the story of missile’s 04 success, also interviews Agni-V Project Director Tessy Thomas and her tri - Agni-enabled umph against all odds. The feature on cinema is on Dada Saheb Phalke award winner Soumitra T Chatterjee and his experiences of working with the legendary film maker India Satyajit Ray ( Ray’s comrade ). When India test-fired Agni V from the E Sunil John, the CEO of ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller, holds the unique Wheeler Islands off the Odisha coast distinction of being the only PR professional making it to the Arabian this April, it catapulted the country Business Expat 50 list consistently for the last three years. 10 Questions into an elite group of nations possess - gives a glimpse of his experiences in advising regional governments, inter - ing a long-range, nuclear-capable N national brands, global corporations and his views on the changing trends in ballistic missile PR business ( PR, a social science ). Hindi cinema has largely been Mumbai centric and serious themes have been far in between. But times are changing. Our capital city has also T ECONOMY become a popular template for our films. Two films in recent memory which have captured the soul of Delhi have been Khosla Ka Ghosla and Oye Lucky! 08 Reform driven Lucky Oye , both by a Bengali director Dibakar Banerjee. We now have Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s S another Bengali director, Shoojit Sircar who brings out Delhi’s Punjabis and optimistic note at IMF’s spring meeting Bengalis in a new and hilarious light – see Vicky Donor! The best in crossover cinema as it tackles a subject, which would have been taboo a few years ago – sperm donation — with élan, style and grace, burying any hint of embarrassment. Times are a changing. Happy reading! Sanjay Verma CINEMA 14 Ray’s comrade Soumitra Chatterjee of Apur Sansar remembers Satyajit Ray RADIO MATTERS 10 QUESTIONS 10 ‘PR, a social science’ The Consulate General of India in Dubai brings to you its weekly radio programme ‘India Matters’ on Suno 102.4 FM. The purpose of India Matters in conversation with Sunil BOOKS the show is to highlight the services provided by the Consulate and talk John, CEO of Middle East’s leading PR com - 16 about the events and news related to India and the Indian community pany ASDA’A Burson Marsteller, Aleph, a new beginning in UAE. who ranks 18th in the latest list of Top 100 Stalwarts David Davidar, Kapish G. Mehra and Ravi India Matters is aired every Friday between 5 and 6 pm on Suno Indians in the GCC Singh come together to push literary fiction in India with 102.4 FM and repeated every Saturday between 12 and 1 pm. a new publishing house, Aleph For more details visit www.cgidubai.com and www.suno1024.com 12 FEATURE Chroniclers of change SUPERBRANDS French artists, inspired by the changing 18 Indian landscape, come up with ‘land art’ Godrej Consumer Products Ltd Winner of the March 2012 monthly quiz contest is India Matters is a monthly publication of the Consulate General of India (CGI) in Dubai . All rights reserved. No part of this journal may be produced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the permission of the CGI Dubai . Mahendra Asher Editorial correspondence and manuscripts can be addressed to indiamatters@cgidubai.com ns! The winner gets a gift hamper. gratulatio Content and design by IANS (www.ianspublishing.com) on behalf of Consulate General of India in Dubai. Con Editorial Coordinator: Zarin Amrolia, Dubai 2 SEPTIEnMdBiEa R M20a09tters| April 2012 April 2012 |India Matters 3 COVER STORY ndia now belongs to an elite At the test site, there was jubilation. club of nations with the capabili - “The three-stage Agni-V missile’s N-capable missiles ty of hitting targets 5,000 km entire performance has been success - in India’s arsenal away. On April 19, India success - fully demonstrated. All mission objec - I India’s nuclear arsenal also fully tested a long-range nuclear- tives and operational targets have capable ballistic missile that can reach been met,” DRDO chief V.K. Saraswat includes several other missiles most of Asia. said. that are nuclear capable. Here is India also emerged as a major mis - “India is today a nation with proven a look at some of them: sile powerhouse of the world, having capability to design, develop and pro - developed Agni-V almost entirely duce a long-range ballistic missile. n Agni-I is a 700-km surface-to- indigenously over the last four years. India is a missile power now,” an exul - surface 12-tonne medium-range The missile can carry a warhead tant Saraswat said. ballistic missile that is opera - weighing more than a tonne. “It was a fantastic launch. It hit the tional with the Indian Army. It The flawless auto-launch of the target with high accuracy,” S.P. Dash, is both road and rail mobile. missile started at 08:04 hours from the director of the test range, said. n Agni-II is a 2,000-km-range mis - the Wheeler Island off the Odisha sile weighing 16 tonne. It was coast. Piercing the thin cloud cover, During the test, the among the first weapons to get the missile took off from the launch into the Indian strategic forces pad at 08:07 hours and started rising 17.5-metre long, 50-tonne arsenal. exactly the way it was designed for. Agni-V reached an altitude n Agni-III is an intermediate- The missile followed the entire trajec - of 600 km and attained a range ballistic missile that can tory in copybook style perfection as hit targets 3,000 km away. It the three stages of propulsion velocity of 7,000 metres weighs 48 tonne and is opera - dropped and fell at appropriate inter - per second, which enabled tional with the Indian strategic vals into the Bay of Bengal. the missile to achieve its forces. The three propulsion stages, devel - intended target range. n Agni-IV is a 3,500-km range oped completely indigenously by missile that was tested suc - DRDO, performed exactly the way cessfully for the first time in they were intended to. The indige - During the test, the 17.5-metre November 2011. Its previous nously developed Composite Rocket long, 50-tonne Agni-V reached an avatar as Agni-II Prime , when Motors performed well, signifying the altitude of 600 km and attained a tested in December 2010, had country’s stride and complete self- velocity of 7,000 metres per second, failed. reliance in this complex propulsion which enabled the missile to achieve n Prithvi-I is a 150-km-range sur - technology. its intended target range. The mis - face-to-surface battlefield mis - Ships located in midrange and at sile system can be transported by sile with a 1,000-kg payload. the target point tracked the Vehicle road or rail. Prithvi has higher lethal effect and witnessed the final event. Radars Defence Minister A.K. Antony compared to any equivalent and electro-optical systems along the spoke to Saraswat and Agni-V Project class of missiles in the world. path monitored in real time all the Director Avinash Chander and con - It is in service with the Indian parameters of the Missile. gratulated them for “this immaculate Army. With the development, India also success”, Defence Ministry spokesper - n Prithvi-II has a 250-km-range stormed into an elite, exclusive club of son Sitanshu Kar said. Indian Air Force version with a nations comprising the U.S., Russia, Antony also recalled “the untiring payload of 500 kg. China, France and Britain, all of contributions” of former DRDO chief n Prithvi-III is a 350-km-range whom have this capability. M. Natarajan. Indian Navy weapon with a Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Agni-V will go through more tests 500-kg payload. Take-off into elite club: Agni-V’s launch at Wheeler Island, Odisha Singh hailed the successful test as before it is inducted into the armed n Sagarika is an under-develop - “another milestone” in the country’s forces by the end of 2014 or early ment submarine-launched mis - “quest for security, preparedness and 2015. sile that will have a 700-km to explore the frontiers of science”. India maintains a ‘no-first-strike’ range. He congratulated the Defence nuclear doctrine, and Agni-V and the These nuclear capable missiles Research and Development 3,500-km-range Agni-IV missiles, were developed by India as part Agni-enabled India Organisation (DRDO) and other which was successfully tested in of its three-decade Integrated organisations, which had worked tire - November 2011, are to provide the Guided Missile Development On April 19, India became one of the select nations, which have the capability of lessly in the endeavour to strengthen country’s strategic forces ‘a second Programme that was completed the defence and security of the strike’ capability against a nuclear in 2010.