Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam; born October 15, 1931,

Why MBA ?
Tamil Nadu, India, usually referred to as Dr. A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam) is the current President of India. A notable scientist and
an engineer, he is often referred to as the Missile Man of India.
He received his degree in aeronautical engineering from the

Why MBA ?
Madras Institute of Technology in 1958. After graduation he
joined India's Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) to work on a hovercraft project.
 In 1962, Kalam moved to the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO), where his team successfully launched

Why MBA ?
several satellites. He made a significant contribution as Project
Director to develop India's first indigenous Satellite Launch
Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully placed the Rohini space
satellite into near earth orbit in July 1980.
 In 1982, Kalam returned to DRDO as Director, focusing on

Why MBA ?
Indigenous guided missiles. He was responsible for the
development and operationalisation of the AGNI and PRITHVI
missiles. This earned him the sobriquet "India's missile-man".
He also helped in the formulation of healthcare products using
technology developed for missiles.
 In July 1992, Kalam became a Scientific Advisor to India's
Defence Minister. As the Principal Scientific Advisor to the

Why MBA ?
Indian government, he held the rank of a Cabinet Minister. His
work led to the successful Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998,
which reiterated India's position as a nuclear weapon state.
Kalam was also the Chairman, Ex-officio, of the Scientific
Advisory Committee to the Cabinet (SAC-C) and piloted the
"India Millennium Mission 2020".
 Kalam has the unique distinction of having received honorary

Why MBA ?
doctorates from at least thirty universities, as also India's three
highest civilian honors: the Padma Bhushan in 1981; the
Padma Vibhushan in 1990; and the Bharat Ratna in 1997. He
has recently refused an honorary doctorate from a University,
stating he is satisfied with the ones he has earned with his hard
work and determination.
 His book "India 2020" strongly advocates an action plan to

Why MBA ?
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.
 On Tuesday, 19 February, 2006, he created history by
becoming the country's first President to undertake an

Why MBA ?
undersea journey. Abdul Kalam boarded the INS
Sindhurakshak, a Russian-origin kilo class submarine, from the
Visakhapatnam Naval dockyard. The duration of the journey
was around three-and-half hours during which Kalam had lunch
with the crewmembers.
 On Thursday, 08 June, 2006, he created history by becoming
the country's first president to undertake a sortie in an aircraft,
the Sukhoi-30 MKI, the latest supersonic fighter aircraft, from
Lohegaon (Pune) airbase. As a 74-year old, he created a

Why MBA ?
record by becoming the oldest Indian co-pilot to do so. The
president donned a G Suit before boarding the aircraft, and was
also given instructions by Air Force officials. He was strapped in
by Corporal H L Ganesh. He flew at a height of six to eight
kilometers in the air at a speed of 1500Km/Hr. The flight lasted
30 minutes. Wing Commander Ajay Rathore, Commanding
Officer of the SU-30 MKI squadron flew the President.
 He has proposed a research programme for developing bio-

Why MBA ?
implants. He is a supporter of Open source software over
proprietary solutions and believes that the use of open source
software on a large scale will bring more people the benefits of
information technology.
 His popularity among Indian youth can be gauged from the fact
that his request to re election as president petition in Petition
Online site is the one of the Top 10 petitions for the past

Why MBA ?
several days.
He gave his first 10 months income of president to the NGO
created and managed by the great Indian spiritual woman Mata
Amritanandamayi.
As a sign of his popularity among Indian youth, MTV-India recently
nominated him as one of the prospects for its MTV India Youth
Icon for the year 2006 Award.
 BOOKS
 India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium by A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam, Y.S. Rajan (Penguin Books India, 2003)

Why MBA ?
 India-my-dream by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (Excel Books, 2004)
 Envisioning an Empowered Nation: Technology for Societal
Transformation by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (TATA McGraw-Hill
Publishing Company Ltd, 2004)
 Guiding Souls: Dialogues on the Purpose of Life by A.P.J.
Abdul Kalam, Arun K Tiwari, (Ocean Books, 2005)
 Biographies
 Wings of Fire: An Autobiography of APJ Abdul Kalam by A.P.J
Abdul Kalam, Arun Tiwari (Orient Longman, 1999)
 Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power Within India by A.P.J.
Abdul Kalam (Penguin Books, 2003)

Why MBA ?
 Scientist to President by Abdul A.P.J. Kalam (Gyan Publishing
House, 2003)
 Eternal Quest: Life and Times of Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen
Abdul Kalam by S. Chandra (Pentagon Publishers, 2002)
 President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam by R. K. Pruthi (Anmol
Publications, 2002)
 A. P. J. Abdul Kalam: The Visionary of India' by K. Bhushan, G.
Katyal (A.P.H. Pub. Corp, 2002)