Jaswant Singh, the External Affairs Minister of India, has been named as the new Defense Minster. (He replaces George Fernandes, who resigned after a corruption scandal erupted.) India has cleared the Agni-II missile for production. Agni-II has a range of 2000km and will reach operational units later this year. The Agni-III, with a range of 3,500km, is expected to be test-launched later this year.--Stephen V Cole