Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam usually referred to as Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, is the current President of India. He is referred as the Missile Man of India.

     Abdul Kalam was born on 15th October 1931 at Rameswaram in Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu to a working class Tamil Muslim family. He received his degree in aeronautical engineering from the Madras Institute of Technology in 1958. He joined India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) upon graduation to work on a hovercraft project.

     In 1962, Kalam moved to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He made a significant contribution as Project Director to develop India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully placed the Rohini satellite into near earth orbit in July 1980.

     In 1982, Kalam returned to the DRDO as Director. He was responsible for the development and operationalisation of the AGNI and PRITHVI missiles.

     In July 1992, Kalam became a Scientific Advisor to India's Defence Minister. His work led to the successful Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, which reiterated India's position as a nuclear weapon state. Kalam later took up academia as a Professor of Technology & Societal Transformation at Anna University, Chennai from November 2001. Dr.Kalam was elected the 11th President of India and took office on July 25, 2002.

     Dr. Kalam received honorary doctorates from at least thirty Universities. He is also the recipient of India's three highest Civilian Honours: the Padma Bhushan in 1981; the Padma Vibhushan in 1990; and the Bharat Ratna in 1997.

     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.