1. A.P.J.

ABDUL KALAM
2. Childhood & Early Life
3. CONTRIBUTIONS AS A SCIENTIST
4. CONTRIBUTIONS AS PRESIDENT OF INDIA
5. AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS
6. CONCLUSION:
A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was a prominent Indian scientist who served as the 11th
President of India from 2002 to 2007. Renowned for his pivotal role in the
nation’s civilian space programme and military missile development, he was
known as the Missile Man of India. He made significant contributions to India's
Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998 which established him as a national hero. An
alumnus of the prestigious Madras Institute of Technology, Kalam began his
career as a scientist at the Aeronautical Development Establishment of the
Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). He was later
transferred to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) where he served
as the project director of India's first Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III). He
eventually rejoined DRDO and became closely involved in India’s space
programme. he served as the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister in
the 1990s before becoming the President of India in 2002. Immensely popular
during his term, he earned the moniker of People's President. He was honored
with several awards including the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour,
for his contribution to the nation’s space and nuclear programme.

Childhood & Early Life

 He was born as Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam
on 15 October 1931 into a Muslim family in
Rameswaram, then in the Madras Presidency in
British India, and now in the state of Tamil Nadu. His
father Jainulabudeen was a boat owner while his
mother Ashiamma was a housewife. Kalam had four
elder siblings.
 Even though his ancestors had been wealthy traders,
the family had lost most of its fortunes by the 1920s
and was poverty-stricken by the time Kalam was born.
As a young boy he had to sell newspapers in order to
add to the family’s meager income.
 Even though the family was not financially well-off,
the children were raised in an atmosphere filled with
love. In one of the books which Kalam wrote decades
later, he fondly remembered how his mother would
lovingly feed her own quota of food to the children
and go hungry herself.
 He was a good student and always curious to learn
more about how things happened. When he was ten
years old, one of his teachers, Siva Subramania Iyer,
 took the students to the seashore and asked them to
observe the birds in flight.
 Then the teacher gave the children a theoretical
explanation, which coupled with the live practical
example, cast a deep influence on young Kalam’s
mind. That very day the boy realized that his life’s
calling had something to do with flight.
 After completing his studies at Schwartz Higher
Secondary School, he enrolled at Saint Joseph's
College, Tiruchirappalli, graduating in science in
1954. Pursuing his childhood dream, he travelled to
Madras to study aerospace engineering in Madras
Institute of Technology.
 During his third year, he was assigned a project to
design a low-level attack aircraft together with a few
other students. The project was a difficult one and on
top of it, their guide gave them a very tight deadline.
The young men toiled together, working under
immense pressure, and finally managed to achieve
the target within the stipulated deadline. The guide
was thoroughly impressed by Kalam’s dedication.
 At this juncture, Kalam aspired to become a fighter
pilot. However he could not realize this dream.

CONTRIBUTIONS AS A SCIENTIST
A great scientist, phenomenal teacher and people’s President,
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam passed away on July 27, 2015, in Shillong.
He once said that he wanted to teach forever, and he was doing
the same on Monday evening when he laid to rest. Dr. Kalam
was in IIM Shillong, addressing students when he suddenly got
a cardiac arrest.
His contribution to science, humanity and technology cannot be
elucidated ever. Here are top contributions of Dr. APJ Abdul
Kalam that turned him into a living legend for the entire
country.
1. Satellite Launch Vehicle
During the 1970s, when India had hardly dreamt of its SLV, Dr.
APJ Abdul Kalam launched SLV III in July 1980, which deployed
Rohini in near earth orbit. It was nearly a decade’s hard work of
Kalam, which made this task possible.
2. Integrated Guided Missile Development Program
Dr. Kalam was appointed as the CEO of this high-end program.
Rather than backing off from this responsibility, Kalam tried in
the best way possible to make it successful. As a result of his
hard work and devotion, missiles like AGNI (a ballistic missile)
and PRITHVI (surface-to-surface missile) came into existence.
3. Pokhran-II Nuclear Tests
During his tenure as Secretary of the Defence Research and
Development Organization and Chief Scientific Advisor to Prime
Minister between July 1992 and December 1999, he took some
great decisions. Dr. Kalam’s intensive technical and political
help in Pokhran-II nuclear tests earned him a lot of media
coverage and established him as the best living nuclear
scientist in the country.
4. Kalam-Raju Tablet
Dr. Kalam and Soma Raju, a well-known cardiologist, came up
with a rugged tablet computer in 2012 to take care of the
health of underprivileged people in rural India. It helped the
government fight many health issues.
5. The Mission 2020
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was a visionary man and saw a dream of
India becoming a developed nation by the year 2020. He
always believed that education and the dominant young
Indians could take the nation to greater heights. He will not be
there to witness India’s success in the coming days, but his
guidance and blessings will surely help the country to fulfill his
dream.

CONTRIBUTIONS AS PRESIDENT OF INDIA

After the bodily death of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam yesterday, the country
mourns his loss and 7 day national mourning is announced by the
Government of India. Even though, he was popular as the eminent
scientist, he is the first educational thinker, who envisioned the idea of
providing training to students to become autonomous learners. He has
directly and indirectly made several contributions to the educational field
and on this day as a tribute to this eminent past President of India; let us
understand his great contributions to the field of education:
He has made great contributions to the advancement of science and
technology and his scholarly research publications, books and articles
have opened new avenues for research and studies in the areas of
metallurgy, ballistics and aeronautics. For a better education and better
future generation, Dr. Kalam insisted on the following things:

Capabilities to be built among students:

Dr. Kalam insisted that the primary focus of students should be to excel
in their studies. He stated that this can be their greatest contribution to
the nation.
Kalam insisted that the primary focus of students should be to excel in
their studies. He stated that this can be their greatest contribution to the
nation. He also insisted that the education system should instill
capabilities like inquiry, creativity, moral leadership and entrepreneurship
among students.

Planning for good education of children in villages:

Dr. Kalam insisted that every school should have the fundamental
amenities like good building that is equipped with right lighting and
ventilation. He also insisted that the rooms in the schools must be
spacious and airy and he also insisted that every school should have
library and laboratories with the latest IT tools and infrastructure. In
addition, there should be safe drinking water, play ground and clean
toilets at schools. He also suggested that these things will be possible by
earmarking the additional 2-3 percent of GDP.

Mission of education:
Dr. Kalam believed that education is the most important element for the
growth and prosperity of the country. He has stated that India should
achieve the status of a developed nation by the year 2020. He has
always insisted that there are more than 350 million people in the
country, who need literacy and they should also acquire employable
skills to suit the emerging modern India.

Inequality to access educational resources:

Dr. Kalam once stated that it is important to enlighten and create
extensive consciousness of education among all sections of society,
specifically in the rural areas and also among the poor people living in
urban areas. He insisted on the usage of technology for this important
social purpose. He also recommended philanthropic institutions and
NGOs and even the media to pay attention to this area of creating
awareness. He also asserted on the mobilization of the required
resources to provide education to the underprivileged people.

AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS

  Kalam was the proud recipient of Padma Bhushan,
Padma Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna awards from the
Government of India. He received the same in the
years 1981, 1990 and 1997, respectively.
 In 1997, he was honored by the Government of India
with the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration.
 Later, the next year, he was awarded the Veer
Savarkar Award by the Government of India.
 The Alwars Research Centre, Chennai, bestowed
Kalam with Ramanujan Award in the year 2000.
 Kalam was honored with the King Charles II Medal by
the Royal Society, U.K in 2007.
 In 2008, he won the Hoover Medal given by ASME
Foundation, USA.
 In 2008, he won the Hoover Medal given by ASME
Foundation, USA.
 The California Institute of Technology, U.S.A,
presented Kalam with the International von Karman
Wings Award in the year 2009.
 The IEEE honored Kalam with IEEE Honorary
Membership in 2011.
 Kalam was the proud recipient of honorary doctorates
from 40 universities.

CONCLUSION:
This Bharat Ratna had earned many awards and accolades. On his
79th Birthday of this eminent child of India, the United Nations declared
the day as World Student Day. Even, the hour before his death, he was
delivering a lecture at IIM, Shillong, where he collapsed out of massive
heart attack. His loss is irreplaceable to mother India.
 AVUL PAKIR
JAINULABDEEN
ABDUL KALAM