By the start of the 1980s, the [[Defence Research and Development Laboratory|DRDL]] had developed competence in the fields of propulsion, navigation and manufacture of materials. Thus, India's political and scientific leadership, which included prime[[Prime ministerMinister of India|Prime Minister]] [[Indira Gandhi]], [[Defence Minister of India|Defence Minister]] [[R. Venkataraman|R. Venkataraman]], [[V. S. Arunachalam|V.S. Arunachalam]] (ScientificPolitical Advisor to the Defence Minister), decided that all these technologies should be consolidated.
This led to the birth of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme. with [[Abdul Kalam|Dr. Abdul Kalam]], who had previously been the project director for the [[Satellite Launch Vehicle|SLV-3 programme]] at [[ISRO]], was inducted as the DRDL Director in 1983 to conceive and lead it. While the scientists proposed the development of each missile consecutively, the Defence Minister R. Venkataraman asked them to reconsider and develop all the missiles simultaneously. Thus, four projects, to be pursued concurrently, were born under the IGMDP:
* Short range surface-to-surface missile (code-named [[Prithvi (missile)|Prithvi]])
* Short range low-level surface-to-air missile (code-named [[Trishul (missile)|Trishul]])
