India is due to test fire a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Analysts say the Agni (meaning "fire" in Hindi and Sanskrit) missile family is to be the cornerstone of India's missile-based nuclear deterrent.
The missiles are among India's most sophisticated weapons.
In 2010, India successfully test-fired Agni-II, an intermediate-range ballistic missile with a range of more than 2,000km (1,250 miles).
Defence analyst Rahul Bedi says the successful test flight of the Agni-V missile, which is capable of delivering a single 1.5-ton warhead deep inside nuclear rival China's territory, will strengthen India's nuclear deterrence once it comes into service by 2014-15.
It is 17.5m-tall, solid-fuelled, has three stages and a launch weight of 50 tons. It has cost more than 2.5bn rupees ($480m) to develop.
Only China, Russia, France, the US, and Great Britain have such long-range missiles. Israel is thought to possess them.
"Agni-V is to meet our present-day threat perceptions, which are determined by our defence forces and other agencies," a spokesman for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Ravi Gupta said.
"This is a deterrent to avoid wars and it is not country-specific," he said.
Mr Gupta said India "has a no-first-use policy", and described the country's missile development programme "purely defensive".
VK Saraswat, scientific adviser to Defence Minister AK Antony, told The Hindu newspaper that the launch will mark a "historic day".
"Agni-V is a game-changer and a technological marvel. It is a weapon which can perform multiple functions," he said.
Source: BBC News
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