BHUBANESWAR: India on Wednesday successfully tested a nuclear-capable ballistic missile from a site in the eastern state of Orissa, defence sources said. The test of the Prithvi-1 (Earth 1) surface-to-surface missile took place at Chandipur-on-sea, about 200km northeast of Orissa's state capital Bhubaneswar. The 8.5-metre missile, which can carry a one-ton conventional or nuclear warhead, can travel 150 kilometres in five minutes and has a range of up to 250 kilometres.

It is designed for battlefield use against troops or armoured formations. An official at the government's Defence Research and Development Organisation told AFP that the test was “part of a continued effort to improve the indigenously-developed missile.”—APP/AFP