The Honorable President of the Republic of India -- A Profile Born on October 15, 1931 at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, specialized in Aeronautical Engineering from the Madras Institute of Technology. Dr. Kalam made significant contributions as Project Director to develop India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III), which successfully propelled the Rohini satellite into near earth orbit in July 1980 and made India an exclusive member of the Space Club. He was responsible for the evolution of the Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO) launch vehicle program, particularly the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) configuration. After working for two decades in ISRO and mastering launch vehicle technologies, Dr. Kalam took up the responsibility of developing Indigenous Guided Missiles at the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) as the Chief Executive of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP). He was also responsible for the development and operationalization of AGNI and PRITHVI Missiles and for building indigenous capability in critical technologies through networking of multiple institutions. He was the Scientific Adviser to the Defense Minister and the Secretary, Department of Defense Research & Development from July 1992 to December 1999. During this period he led the weaponization of strategic missile systems and the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in collaboration with the Department of Atomic Energy, which made India a nuclear weapon State. He also gave thrust to selfreliance in defense systems, by progressing multiple development tasks and mission projects such as the Light Combat Aircraft. As Chairman of the Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) and as an eminent scientist, he led the country with the help of 500 experts to arrive at Technology Vision 2020, which gave a road map for transforming India from the present developing status to a developed nation. Dr. Kalam has served as the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, in the rank of a Cabinet Minister, from November 1999 to November 2001 and was responsible for evolving policies, strategies and missions for many development applications. Dr. Kalam was also the Chairman, Ex-officio, of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet (SAC-C) and piloted the India Millennium Mission 2020. Dr. Kalam became Professor, Technology & Societal Transformation at Anna University, Chennai from November 2001 and was involved in teaching and research tasks. Above all, he took up a mission to ignite young minds for national development by meeting high school students across the country. In his literary pursuits five of Dr. Kalam's books - 'Wings of Fire', 'India 2020 - A Vision for the New Millennium', 'My journey' and 'Ignited Minds - Unleashing the power within India' and 'Envisioning an Empowered Nation-Technology for Societal Transformation', have become household names in India and among Indian nationals abroad. These books have been translated into many Indian languages. In addition, 'Wings of Fire' has been translated into Chinese, Russian and Korean. Dr. Kalam has also written 'My Journey', a collection of his poems and ' Luminous Sparks', another book of his poems with biographical notes. Dr. Kalam is one of the most distinguished scientists of India with the unique honor of receiving honorary doctorates from 30 universities and institutions. He has been awarded the coveted civilian awards - Padma Bhushan (1981) and Padma Vibhushan (1990) and the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (1997). He is a recipient of several other awards and Fellow of many professional institutions. Dr. Kalam became the 11th President of India on July 25, 2002. His focus is on transforming India into a developed nation by 2020. During his tenure, Dr. Kalam has traveled extensively in India meeting people from all walks of life and students in urban and rural areas including remote corners of the vast Indian nation. He has continued to focus on engaging the nation's younger generation to ignite in them the mission of national development, by interacting with them at Rashtrapati Bhavan and also during his travels in the States and Union Territories.