Launching itself into an elite club of nations with the capability of hitting targets 5,000 km away, India yesterday successfully tested a long-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile that can reach Beijing and Shanghai in China, and all of Pakistan.

With its launch from Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast at 8.07 am, India also emerged as a major missile powerhouse of the world, having developed Agni-V indigenously over the last four years. The missile, described as “China-killer”, carries a warhead weighing more than a tonne.