On Dr. Abdul Kalam’s death anniversary, hear the former president recount how India's first supersonic cruise missile was built.
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00:00One of the great innovations that happened with two-nation partnership is the development and production and marketing of the first supersonic cruise missile in the country.
00:12Now, this supersonic cruise missile, you know, I was at that time a working scientist, okay?
00:20There was a difference between a working scientist and a non-working scientist.
00:24And I was working in my laboratory, and I visited my Russian counterpart, and he's called Professor Yefabo.
00:34He showed me a number of labs, and I found when it is a secret lab, when I found it's a defense laboratory like mine I was dealing,
00:43when I saw the item, there is some core competence uniquely I have not seen any lab in the world or in my country.
00:52So, I noted the unique, unique technology level two area we identified.
01:00Then I invited Professor Yefabo to my labs at RCA Research Center, Himarata, Hyderabad.
01:06He came, and he visited there, and he also located two unique core competence.
01:13Then we found that Russia has got two unique core competencies, and India has got two unique core competencies,
01:21and if we bring them together, a unique system may emerge.
01:26That's how the first, India's first supersonic cruise missile emerged with the investment of $300 million.
01:34Today, it has become $10 billion business.
01:37This is really innovation.
01:41There's innovation technology, innovation marketing, and innovation in production, all the three areas there.