Prithvi-I is India’s first indigenously developed ballistic missile, a tactical short-range surface-to-surface system developed by DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), primarily fielded by the Indian Army for battlefield and operational-depth strike roles.[1]
Development of the Prithvi series began in 1983 as the founding programme of the IGMDP, giving India its first genuinely indigenous ballistic-missile capability and laying the technical foundation — in propulsion, guidance and launch infrastructure — for the later Agni series.[1]
Prithvi-I is a single-stage, liquid-fuelled missile 9.5 m long and 1 m in diameter, weighing about 1,500 kg dry and roughly 4,600 kg when fully fuelled. It can carry a warhead of up to 1,000 kg to a range of 150 km, with an accuracy of 10–50 m CEP, and is launched from a road-mobile transporter-erector-launcher (TEL).[1]
| Type | Single-stage, liquid-fuel tactical short-range ballistic missile |
| Developer | DRDO (IGMDP) |
| Length / Diameter | 9.5 m / 1 m |
| Weight | ~1,500 kg dry / ~4,600 kg fuelled |
| Range | 150 km |
| Payload | Up to 1,000 kg |
| Accuracy | 10–50 m CEP |
| Launch platform | Road-mobile TEL |
| User | Indian Army |
| Naval variant | Dhanush (shipborne) |