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India on Monday successfully test-fired nuclear-capable Agni-II ballistic missile, with a range of 2000 kilometers from the Wheelers Island off Orissa coast. The trial was conducted with a special strategic command force (SSC) raised by the Army with necessary logistic support provided by various laboratories of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists. The Agni missile family is envisaged to be the mainstay of the Indian missile-based strategic nuclear deterrence. The Agni-II is a medium range ballistic missile (MRBM) with two solid fuel stages and a Post Boost Vehicle (PBV) integrated into the missile's Re-entry Vehicle (RV). The Agni's manoeuvring RV is made of a carbon-carbon composite material that is light and able to sustain high thermal stresses of re-entry, in a variety of trajectories. The missile is part of the Agni series, which includes Agni-I of 700-kilometer range and Agni-III of 3,500-kilometer range. Sources in the Union Home Ministry on Monday feared that the casualties of the IED blast in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada is likely to go high as the rescue and relief operations have been hampered due to bad light. Security forces have launched a major rescue operation. On Monday evening in one of the worst attack on civilians the Maoists blew up a private bus killing over 30 people. The bus was on its way from Dantewada to Sukma when the incident took place near Chingawaram, over nine kilometers from Sukma. The bus-CG17 SS 9295 was carrying 20 special police officers (SPO) and over 30 civilians.The SPOs were on their way to participate in a special recruitment drive. The latest blast incident has taken place a day after the Maoists called for a 48 hour shutdown in five states-Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. The sources said the attack might have been a pre -planned one. Reportedly, the Maoists also fired on the bus after the blast to ensure that nobody stays alive.

Agni-II test fired successfully