Agni

The Agni series constitutes the land-based leg of India's nuclear deterrent, comprising medium-to-intercontinental-range ballistic missiles designed and produced by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The programme originated under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), launched in 1983 under the scientific leadership of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, which also produced Prithvi, Akash, Trishul and Nag. The first Agni technology demonstrator was flight-tested on 22 May 1989 from the Interim Test Range at Chandipur, Odisha (now the Dr. Abdul Kalam Island launch complex). The Agni missiles are central to India's declared posture of "credible minimum deterrence" and a "No First Use" doctrine, formalised in the Draft Nuclear Doctrine of 1999 and reaffirmed by the Cabinet Committee on Security in 2003, with command vested in the Strategic Forces Command established the same year.

The series is graded by range. Agni-I is a short-to-medium-range single-stage missile of roughly 700–900 km. Agni-II reaches about 2,000 km, and Agni-III about 3,000–3,500 km. Agni-IV extends to roughly 4,000 km, while Agni-V is India's first intercontinental-range missile, a three-stage solid-fuelled system exceeding 5,000 km, first tested on 19 April 2012. Progressive variants moved from liquid or hybrid propulsion to all-solid propellants, enabling faster launch readiness, and to road- and rail-mobile canisterised launchers that enhance survivability and second-strike capability. A landmark development was Mission Divyastra on 11 March 2024, the first flight test of Agni-V equipped with MIRV (Multiple Independently targetable Re-entry Vehicle) technology, allowing a single missile to deliver several warheads to separate targets. The longer-range Agni-VI and the canister-launched, MIRV-capable Agni-Prime (Agni-P) — first tested in June 2021 with a 1,000–2,000 km range — represent the programme's current frontier.

As of 2026, Agni-V and Agni-Prime anchor India's evolving deterrent, and the MIRV demonstration places India among a small group of states with that capability. The K-series submarine-launched ballistic missiles (K-15, K-4) complement the land-based Agni leg to complete India's nuclear triad, alongside aircraft-delivered weapons. India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) but is a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which it joined in 2016, while remaining outside the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

For the UPSC examination, Agni is tested primarily in the General Studies Paper III science-and-technology and internal-security segments, and figures in Prelims through current-affairs flagging of specific tests such as Mission Divyastra and Agni-Prime. Typical question angles ask candidates to match missiles to ranges, to identify the IGMDP lineage and DRDO's role, to explain MIRV technology and its strategic significance, and to situate Agni within the nuclear triad and India's No First Use doctrine. Aspirants should memorise the range bands, the 1989 and 2012 milestone dates, and the distinction between ballistic and cruise missiles (Agni versus BrahMos).