Father of Agni missile R.N. Agarwal passed away

• R.N. Agarwal, the father of Agni missiles, passed away at the age of 84. He died due to old age-related ailments.

• R.N. Agarwal was a Padma Bhushan awardee.

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

• The Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMP) was initiated by former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Agni was a key programme in it.

• The Agni missile is a family of medium to intercontinental range ballistic missiles.