Women Scientists Played Major Role In Mission Divyastra's Success

Showcasing the increasing role of women in the field of science in the country, a large number of female scientists were involved in the success of the Mission Divyastra led by the Programme Director Sheena Rani. Senior scientist Sheena Rani has been involved in many successful missile tests in the past also. The programme project director Dr Shankari S also played a significant role in the mission's success, defence officials said.

A significant number of female scientists worked in the programme to develop key technologies for the mission to develop the multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) technology for the Agni-5 missile.

The female scientists who played a significant role in the project include Usha Verma, Neeraja, Vijay Lakshmi and Venkatamani and all of them are part of the strategic missiles laboratories of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday stated that India successfully carried out the maiden flight test of the Agni-5 missile with multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) technology, which would allow the weapon system to deliver multiple nuclear warheads against different targets spread across hundreds of kilometres.

The Indian Agni-5 missile programme is an inter-continental ballistic missile that has the capability to strike any target in China or any other target based on the threat perception beyond 5,500 kilometres.