Former Indian president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, considered the father of the country's missile programme, died on Monday (July 27) in hospital at the age of 83, a doctor said.

Popularly known as "Missile Man," Kalam led the scientific team that developed missiles able to carry India's nuclear warheads. He became a national folk hero after helping oversee nuclear tests in 1998 that solidified India's status as a nuclear weapons state.
India's first atomic test was in 1974.

Kalam died from cardiac arrest in Bethany Hospital in the north-eastern city of Shillong, capital of Meghalaya state, according to hospital chief executive officer John L. Sailo.

India's 11th president, from 2002 to 2007, had collapsed earlier in the day while delivering a lecture, according to Indian media reports.

Kalam, who wrote a book called "Ignited Minds," became best known as a tireless campaigner for unleashing India's technological muscle and discouraging expensive imports from the West.
Born on Oct. 15, 1931 in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Kalam graduated from the prestigious Madras Institute of Technology in aeronautical engineering.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said India had lost one of it's most inspirational people.

"Dr. Kalam was not merely the President but he was to every Indian a role model and an ideal citizen. Everything about him was positive. He thought well, he had positive ideas, his contribution as a scientist, his contribution as a president was unparalleled. He has left a void for all of us," he said.