Renowned missile scientist and Padma Bhushan awardee Dr Ramnarayan Agarwal (Agniman), aged 84, passed away in Hyderabad on Friday, August 15. He was sick and breathed his last at his residence in Rakshapuram, near the Kanchanbagh DRDO township, on Thursday ( 15 August 2024). His family had taken him to the Apollo Hospital but doctors declared him 'brought dead'.

• Dr Agarwal was significant in catalysing India's long-range ballistic missile programme, spearheaded by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO).
• He served as the first Project Director of the Agni Missile Program and is widely recognised as the "Father of Missiles" and affectionately known as "Agniman."
• He retired as the Director of the Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) in 2005.